One Year
by RynUhara
Summary: The Uchiha clan was firm in the belief of keeping their kekkei genkai in their main family's lineage. Itachi and his wife are unable to conceive a new heir, so naturally, his father looks to his youngest son to continue on the Sharingan with a branch family member. The problem? Sasuke was already in love with his teammate and only had a year to put off his arranged marriage.
1. Chapter 1

"One Year" Chapter 1

"That boy is late again."

Fugaku Uchiha had a scowl on his face, looking in the direction of the door that his youngest son was _supposed_ to have walked through by now.

"Now, dear, I'm sure it's not on purpose. Maybe he was called out for a mission?" Mikoto suggested.

"I notified Lady Hokage that he was not to be put on any missions unless it was a dire emergency. She knows the importance of today." He snapped in reply.

"Father, I could go looking for him if you'd like." His oldest son, Itachi, offered from his seat next to his wife.

"No." Fugaku shot down his offer, giving a glare to the clan's heir. "He will have me to deal with if he doesn't show soon."

"Dear, Sasuke is an adult now. He can make his own decisions." Mikoto gave her husband a gentle pat on his shoulder.

"Those decisions have consequences. He is twenty-two years old, and he hasn't even considered the importance of marriage. He can't just go around, recklessly neglecting his duties as a member of the head family of our clan."

"He's still young, father. Don't you think that marriage talk is a bit too early? Besides, I'm the head heir. It's not like Sasuke is the one responsible for producing the heir after me."

"We spoke about this before, Itachi." Fugaku glanced to his son and daughter in law. "You and Rikka have been married for six years now, and you still haven't produced an heir."

"It's not from lack of trying..." Rikka quietly responded. The possibility of not being able to have children made her feel like a burden to her husband. Itachi firmly held her hand under the table, reassuring her that wasn't the case.

"You know the way it's been for decades. Every member of the head family must marry a member of a branch family to make sure that the Sharingan is passed down through every generation. That is why even adoption isn't an option for you two when it comes to bringing an heir to this clan."

Itachi frowned at his father's words. The truth was, he knew the whereabouts of his brother, and he knew why Sasuke would avoid his father for as long as it took Itachi to produce an heir. Itachi had been fortunate enough to fall in love with someone from a branch family, but Sasuke wasn't as lucky.

Very few people knew about his relationship with his teammate, and Itachi and Sasuke knew that if Fugaku found out, he would put an end to it immediately. Especially with Sasuke possibly being the only person left in the head family to produce the kind of heir their father wished for.

"Perhaps this conversation can wait for one more day? The food is getting cold." Mikoto gave her husband an apologetic smile.

"Mother is right." Itachi nodded. "It's obvious that Sasuke isn't coming home anytime soon."

"He can't avoid this forever," Fugaku grumbled and picked up his chopsticks. "I have someone arranged to become his wife."

* * *

Your father is going to be angry that you didn't show up for dinner."

"Hn." Sasuke nuzzled his face into the crook of his lover's neck, ignoring her statement. He knew that his father would be angry, but he didn't care. This was where he wanted to be, and not having some stupid family discussion on his responsibilities as an Uchiha.

"Will he send someone to look for you again?"

"I don't care." He smirked into her hair and breathed in her scent. He hated sweets, but the sugary scent that she gave off always intoxicated him.

"It's already dark outs-"

Sasuke suddenly pinned her down and captured her lips, preventing her from finishing her sentence.

"Annoying." He smirked down at her face, which had turned pink from his sudden actions. The young couple had spent most of the day in her bed due to being kept off of missions. They both knew the reason behind it, but they kept ignoring the subject.

"Sasuke, I don't want you to keep getting in trouble because of me." She reached up and stroked his cheek in a gentle manner.

"It will be fine." He reassured her. "Once Itachi has a kid, he'll turn his attention to them."

"He'll still be angry..." She looked away from his intense gaze. "I'm not a member of a branch family. I'm an outsider."

"Sakura, _I don't care._ " He turned her chin to look at him again. "You're the one I want to be with. Not some girl that my father chooses. I want you."

Her green eyes glossed over with the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks. Sasuke took her left hand into his and kissed her ring finger, never breaking his gaze from her face. This had become his way of telling her his intentions since they had gotten serious. A promise to make her his.

A sudden knock came from Sakura's window, taking their attention away from each other. They knew that it was going to either be Naruto or Itachi at this time of night, knowing where they would be found.

Sasuke got up from the bed and peeked through the fabric of the curtain. He scowled when his eyes met those of his older brother's.

He motioned for Sakura to get dressed, then let him in once she made herself decent.

"Good evening, Sakura." Itachi nodded to her as he came into the room. She gave him a shy wave in greeting.

"What do you want?" Sasuke asked, annoyed by Itachi's interruption.

"Father is really angry with you this time, Sasuke."

The younger brother rolled his eyes. "You think I didn't know that? You didn't have to come here and tell me, you know."

"He's serious this time, Sasuke." Itachi gave his brother a stern look. "He's chosen someone."

"What?" Sasuke's eyes widened. "There's no way that he's already set it up."

"He's becoming impatient with Rikka and me." Itachi looked down.

Sasuke glanced over to Sakura, who was quietly sitting on the bed in his shirt. She looked as if she wanted to say something, but hesitated when two sets of onyx eyes were looking her way.

"What is it?"

"Have you and Lady Rikka thought of using medical techniques to conceive?"

"Things like that exist?" Itachi looked at the girl with curious eyes.

"It's not an absolute 100% way to make sure that she conceives, but it does have a high success rate."

"Would you be able to help them?" Sasuke's face became hopeful.

"Possibly," Sakura answered. "There are tests that need to be done, of course, but it shouldn't be an issue."

"We have a year to have a child." Itachi looked down.

Sasuke looked at his brother in confusion. "Why a year?"

"Father said that you would marry as soon as possible, but I suggested that he gives you a year."

"And he allowed it?"

Itachi remained quiet for a moment as if he were thinking of a way to word what he was about to ask.

"Little brother... What would you think about becoming a part of ANBU?"

* * *

"The ANBU training and qualification exams take a little under a year, and only the elite ninja are able to take part. Since you've trained under me from the time you were a genin, there is obviously not going to be a problem in getting you right in."

Sasuke had approached his sensei with his brother's idea the day after he appeared in Sakura's bedroom. The copy ninja was surprised at Sasuke's notion at first since he never had interest in becoming an ANBU before then, but he understood when Sakura explained the situation further. He was one of the select few that were in on their relationship, which was to be expected since he was the leader of squad seven and saw it coming from the day he met the two shinobi. Kakashi had watched them grow into adults and witnessed their relationship blossom. He had a soft spot for the couple, to say the least.

"Oi, why didn't you suggest that I take the ANBU qualification exams, Sensei?" Naruto complained. "I trained under you _and_ Pervy Sage! Doesn't that mean anything?"

"It's because I was going to wait to suggest it when you both became older. It's not some club. You are being trained to become an assassin and carry out many other secret missions." Kakashi warned.

Sasuke looked down again at the papers that his brother had given him that morning. Kakashi had already signed his seal of approval, and all they needed was Sasuke's signature to make it final that he would be participating in the ANBU training for the next year. It meant that he wouldn't be living in the Uchiha compound, and would most likely not see his friends or family until his special training was over.

"Are you having second thoughts?" Sakura had appeared next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder as she looked at the blank space on the paper where his gaze had been.

Sasuke shook his head and took out his pen. "This is something I have to do."

With a swift movement of his hand, he filled in his name.

There was a heavy feeling in his chest, knowing that he was going to have to become a trained assassin and take away the lives of people without question. However, he knew it was necessary if he was going to give Itachi and Rikka enough time to conceive so that he wouldn't have to enter a loveless marriage with a branch family member.

"Don't worry, okay?" Sakura gave him a reassuring smile. "I'll help them out while you're gone. You'll be an uncle before you know it."

Sasuke nodded and gave her a small smirk. He knew that he could trust her to do this.

* * *

Two weeks passed, and Sasuke found himself being led by his brother and sensei to the secret location of the ANBU training region. It took a day and a half to get there, and there were thousands of trees that surrounded them it seemed. He could barely tell the direction they were heading.

"Is there anything I should know about this place before we get there?"

"Always be on guard," Kakashi answered. "There are many different kinds of people you will come across and some of them are not so great."

"People will constantly be looking for your weaknesses," Itachi added. "So don't show much emotion if they start things with you."

They stopped in front of a tree that had a seal on its trunk. Kakashi and Itachi took their ANBU masks out and put them over their faces.

Sasuke looked down at his own mask in his hands. It was a complete circle without any sort of markings. Itachi explained that Sasuke and his other comrades that were about to embark on this journey had to discover themselves before they made their true mask. That was going to be his identity on the battlefield, therefore he had to look hard within himself to find his mask.

He put it on his face as Itachi released the seal on the tree that opened into a dark void it seemed. Some kind of genjutsu maybe?

The three men walked in and made their way through the void. Sasuke felt a rush of adrenaline when dark shadows passed in between them.

"It's fine," Itachi reassured him. "As long as you have your mask on when you pass through, the genjutsu won't immobilize you."

Sasuke nodded in understanding and kept walking forward.

"We'll be there soon," Kakashi warned, looking over his shoulder.

"Is there anything else I should know before we get there?"

Itachi swallowed hard. "Don't say anything about Sakura, alright?"

Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows in confusion at this.

"Remember what I said before: They will always be looking for a weakness. Even though we are part of the same village, don't expect them all to have good intentions. There's a reason we wear these masks, Sasuke."

Sasuke understood then what he meant. Should anyone know about his life outside of ANBU, it would put the ones he loved in danger.

They finally reached a wall with a similar symbol on it as the tree from before. Kakashi released the seal this time, opening up a doorway into a white room that looked like a commons area.

It almost felt like an insane asylum to Sasuke. Everyone wore similar attire, and the only colors he seemed to see were black, white, and gray. Nothing vibrant, always making sure everyone and everything blended in. It was now sinking in that this place that seemed to have no individuality- no life, really, was going to be his home for the next year.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Sakura had been in many situations that normal people wouldn't be able to keep their cool in.

She had performed countless emergency surgeries, sometimes in a tent in the midst of a raging battleground, completely unphased by her surroundings. Never once did she worry about her skills as a doctor, or a ninja for that matter.

That was... Until she met Fugaku Uchiha.

"So, you're telling me that this girl is more capable in helping you two than our clan's own doctors?" The Uchiha head narrowed his eyes at the pinkette.

"Father, she is one of the top attending doctors of the village hospital. She has studied directly under Lady Hokage and I'm very confident that she knows what she's talking about." Itachi took up for her. "She only came here to propose this to you. Rikka and I have already agreed to try some of the procedures."

"I promise, Lord Uchiha." Sakura bowed to him. "I can and will take very good care of them."

Mikoto reached her hand out to her husband's arm. "It would give Itachi the chance to bring forth an heir. You could allow Sasuke some time to warm up to a suitable girl in stead of forcing him to get married right away when he gets back. It's a better outcome, darling."

Sakura swallowed hard at the matriarch's words. An arranged marriage was still on the table for Sasuke, regardless of Rikka having a child or not.

The older man gave a slight grunt. "And it would definitely be a child with untainted blood, correct?" He directed this question to Sakura, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"Yes, sir. I will go over each possibility with you now if you would like."

"Quit wasting my time, girl." Fugaku scoffed. "As long as a child that is completely full-blooded is the result, I don't care how it's done."

That hit a nerve within Sakura. His words reminded her of what she and Sasuke could never be even if she was able to give Itachi and his wife the child that they longed for. Even if she was able to buy that little bit of time to remain Sasuke's secret lover...

She would never be an Uchiha by blood.

"I think we're done here," Itachi spoke up, putting his hand on Sakura's shoulder. "Should I walk you back? You can go over the options more in depth with me while we walk."

Sakura nodded and let Itachi lead her out of the compound after giving another bow to the Uchiha patriarch.

"I'm sorry about my father." Itachi apologized once they left the compound.

"Has he always treated people that way?"

"For as long as I can remember." The young man sighed. "It still wasn't as bad as how he is when it's just our family. Nothing is good enough, and he always expects more. That's why Sasuke and I are as brilliant as we are, though, so I guess that's a good thing."

Sakura nodded. "I guess so... It's just... He's so intense."

"You have to be when ruling a clan like ours." Itachi shrugged. "One wrong decision and they'll revolt and declare a new head bloodline. We'd become a branch family if that were to happen. Though, I really wouldn't mind it."

"Really?" Sakura raised her eyebrow.

"Don't get me wrong. I take pride in the fact that I'll be in my father's shoes one day. It's just a lot of weight off of me if that were to happen, though. Plus, Sasuke would be free to be with whoever he wanted, regardless of their bloodline."

Sakura gave a slight smile to Itachi. "You truly care for him, don't you?"

"Of course." He nodded. "He may be foolish, but he is still my little brother. I made a promise the day he was born that I would fill in where our father doesn't."

He reached out and poked Sakura's forehead and smirked. "That means caring for his heart, which you seem to have taken from him."

Sakura blushed at the gesture. Sasuke did that to her all the time, too. It was a secret gesture between the brothers. Those they did that to meant more than just simple words. Never did they need to say "I love you".

* * *

It felt like he hadn't rested for a week, but it had only been 48 hours since the last time he slept properly. It was an intentional tactic that the ANBU captains had forced all of the trainees to go through to test their minds and bodies. They were constantly told that they had to learn to make dire decisions when fatigued because there wasn't ever any kind of predictions that could be made on what a mission held for those of ANBU rank.

"This is bullshit." Sasuke heard one of his comrades groan on his right. "There's a thing they call people that can go on for days at a time without sleep you know."

Sasuke tilted his head, waiting for an answer.

"Insane! Undead! Zombies!" The man continued on with exaggerations building on each word. It almost made Sasuke miss his idiotic best friend.

"Quiet down, cadet!" One of the captains barked at him.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. This was the third outburst someone had in the last hour. It felt like it would never end at this point.

The Uchiha was tired, but he knew that the complaining would only get him sent back home. The captains had threatened before to take whoever complained of their training style out of the running to become ANBU.

He needed to at least give Sakura this time to help Itachi and Rikka. The only issue Sasuke seemed to have at this point, wasn't his fatigue. It was that he started to lose track of the time he had been there. After a week, everything was blurring together.

There were no letters from home. No clocks. No windows. Just this white void of walls that surrounded him and his other comrades.

The training was meant to see how far you could go without your mind breaking. Those few that survived were able to attain their mask.

Sasuke closed his eyes to meditate again. It was encouraged to do so by his brother. He warned him beforehand that when this leg of the training came upon him to always meditate when he could to keep a clear mind. It would heighten his senses. He warned Sasuke that the captains would attack without notice and it would be brutal when they did.

About half of them would be eliminated and sent home after this trial. Sasuke refused to be one of them.

After a few more hours, a sharp, high-pitched whistle rang through the room.

Sasuke jumped to his feet and blocked an attack from a captain right before it could make contact with his jaw.

"Nice job, cadet." She chuckled. "You looked like you were sleeping for a moment."

Sasuke countered her with a sharp kick, that barely made any contact.

"Great reflexes, too." She noted out loud, sending a kunai his way. Sasuke unsheathed his sword and blocked the knife coming right for him. "If you can get past this test, maybe you'll actually make it out of here with your mask."

Sasuke saw her dark eyes shift from behind her own mask as she made hand signs to attack him with a water jutsu. The raven-haired man was quicker than she anticipated, however. He ran his chidori through his blade as his opponent's attack made contact with him.

She jumped back with a hiss. "So, you're a lightning user huh?"

"Maybe if you stopped talking, you'd be able to read my chakra signature better." Sasuke snapped back at her.

"I'd think before you smart off, cadet." She glared and lunged at him at full speed.

Sasuke barely dodged her attack again. His sharingan had caught a thin blade of water at her hand.

"Kekkei genkai." She clicked her tongue. "I knew there was an Uchiha in the mix of this group. Just my luck I'd choose to attack you."

"If you have a problem with it, then maybe you should step down, now," Sasuke smirked behind his own mask, his voice laced with cockiness.

"Tch. You wish, cadet." She growled and made more hand signs. She stood her ground and made a water prison to trap Sasuke, but the Uchiha was quick on his feet.

He made his own hand signs and countered her attack with a fire jutsu, causing steam to rise.

The ANBU captain looked around, frantically trying to track her target, but he proved to be too fast for her.

Sasuke appeared behind her, with his blade to her throat.

"I don't plan on leaving just yet." He spoke in her ear.

"Well done, cadet." She smirked as he brought his sword back to his side. "You've passed this test."

She grabbed his arm and began to lead him through the massive crowd of captains and cadets still going at it.

"Let it be known that we could have gone further than what we did." She grumbled. "I was just told to pass you if you were able to subdue me in the slightest."

"Ah." Sasuke nodded.

They reached a wall that she ran her chakra through. A passage to a hallway opened. There were many doors that each lead to barracks for the cadets to rest up in. It was more like a reward for completing the first of many trials they would endure.

"Here's your bed, cadet." She motioned for him to enter. "You'll be notified later on of your next trial. For now, rest up."

Sasuke nodded and bowed to her. "Yes, ma'am."

She rubbed the back of her neck, suddenly becoming uncomfortable. "Er. Yeah. I'll take my leave now."

The captain started to leave but remembered something. "Oh, I forgot to inform you that you're now allowed to have letters. It's been three weeks you've been here now. The box under your bed is for you."

Sasuke raised his brow. Letters from home? Why would they suddenly spring that on him? Was it another tactic to make his determination waiver?

She shut the door behind her, snapping him back to the reality of it all.

The room was small. Just big enough for a bed, sink, and toilet.

Sasuke kicked his shoes off and removed his mask. He walked over to the sink and splashed water on his face. After drying it off, he went for the box that the captain had spoken of.

There were five envelopes in total. He sifted through them and read the names. His parents, Kakashi, Itachi, Naruto, and Sakura had all sent him a letter.

He swallowed hard. Should he read them? He groaned and threw them on the mattress in front of him.

This could very well be a tactic to make him want to go home. Especially after being as fatigued as he was, he wasn't sure if opening them would be a good idea.

On one hand, he had the ability to find out everything that was going on at home. If Sakura was successful in aiding his brother and sister-in-law, he would be able to breathe easier.

However, on the other hand, he knew that if he read his lover's letter in particular that it would be more suffocating. She was his oxygen, after all. She was the one that kept him going, and since he had left her for the exam, he was gasping for air.

He decided after a while that he'd sleep on it.

The Uchiha let his eyes slip shut and let sleep overtake him.


	3. Chapter 3

"One Year" Chapter 3

Sakura had just barely started her shift at the hospital, but she felt like she had been trampled by a million of Naruto's shadow clones. She laid on her couch and covered her eyes with her arm, hoping that her nausea would subside so she could get some work done.

She had an appointment with Itachi and Rikka today and she was determined to keep it. Not just for their sake, but because she knew that Sasuke was counting on her skills and knowledge to get this done.

He was doing his part, so it was only right that she jumped in and did all she could as well.

It was easier said than done though because in that moment Sakura was fighting a battle with her stomach.

"Of all the times to get sick," She groaned, trying to muster up the energy to get off of her couch. "Maybe I shouldn't have skipped breakfast, though. Maybe I'm nauseous because I didn't eat."

The pinkette finally pulled herself up and stretched, almost losing her balance because of the sudden wave of dizziness she felt come over her.

Great. It could be the flu.

She groaned and walked over to her desk and pulled open a drawer of medication. She rummaged through it until she found her desired bottle and popped a pill from the container into her mouth.

"Taking medicine on an empty stomach won't help with your nausea, you know."

Sakura looked up and saw Ino standing in her doorway. She had confided about her ailments earlier when she arrived, so of course, the blonde was going to be checking in on her.

She sat a paper bag on Sakura's desk.

"I went and grabbed a couple of rice balls from the cafeteria. You might as well try and eat those."

Sakura took a drink of water and nodded. "Thanks, pig. What would I do without you?"

Ino smirked and shook her head. "It's what friends are for. You know you wouldn't be able to run this place without me."

Sakura smiled and opened the bag, her mouth began to water at the steam and smell of rice hitting her face.

She eagerly grabbed the food and scarfed it down.

"Easy, easy." Ino laughed. "If you eat too fast, then you _will_ throw up."

"I can't help it," Sakura groaned through her full mouth. "It's like I can't get full lately, but then I feel too sick to even try to eat."

Ino raised her brow. "You said you started feeling bad yesterday, right?"

Sakura took another sip of her water and nodded. "Yeah. The flu is going around right now, so I might have caught something of that sort from one of the patients."

"That makes sense." Ino shrugged. "So, what do you have on your schedule today? Maybe I can help you out with some of the patients."

"Actually, I only have a few appointments on my calendar. The main one I'm focussed on is the one with the Uchiha couple."

Ino smirked. "Oh yeah, I remember what you told me about them. You're going to help your in-laws in conceiving."

Sakura's cheeks turned light pink as she glared at her friend. "I told you before, Ino. There's nothing going on between me and Sasuke. It's just a favor that I'm doing for his family. Besides, what good would a relationship be with him when he's away for so long?"

Sakura knew better than to tell the blonde about her relationship with Sasuke. She knew that Ino would start a riot if she even said that the man was going to be forced into an arranged marriage. Ino believed in true love because she had gone all the way through hell and back for her own man.

It could have been because Sai wasn't Sakura's type, but she really didn't see what Ino saw in him. They had been married for a few months and seemed to be happier than ever. It almost made Sakura jealous. _Almost._

"Oh, yeah. How is his ANBU qualifications going? Have you been able to write to him?"

"Eh. They said we could, but I haven't gotten a reply back, so I don't know if he even read my letter or not." Sakura frowned. "Maybe he's just too busy. It's a demanding program after all."

"Yeah. Sai said that it wasn't a joke. They put them through a lot of emotionally and physically taxing situations."

That's right. Sai was in ANBU as well.

"Did he say if it was worth going through in the long run? I mean, I'm just asking because I was thinking of going through the medic program myself."

"Are you sure you're not asking because you're worried about Sasuke?"

Sakura sighed and looked down. Of course, she was worried about Sasuke, but she didn't want to say it outright.

"Look, forehead. I'm not telling you how to live your life, but if I were you, I'd tell the knucklehead how you feel. I know you had a thing for him when we were in the academy, but then again who didn't? That's why we fought so much, after all." Ino winked. "Besides, what can he do while he's there for so long? It will give him time to realize who _really_ cares about him. You're wifey material, so I'm sure he'll get down on his knees and beg you to marry him when he comes back."

Sakura covered her face with her hands. Just what was Ino going on about?

A knock came from Sakura's door, interrupting the blonde's laughter.

"Um, excuse me. Miss Ino and Miss Sakura, they're asking for you both in the ER. They brought back the first round of failures from the ANBU exams and they need to be treated right away."

Sakura and Ino looked at each other and nodded. Now wasn't the time for joking around, because they had a job to do.

All Sakura had in her mind at that moment was making sure that none of the patients being seen were Sasuke.

* * *

The fighting in the main hall had ceased, and the barracks were all filled. Sasuke silently wondered what was done with the personal belongings such as the letters of the people that failed. Did they receive letters from home, too? Or was it just something the captains generated through chakra seals to test those that passed the first trial?

Just how many actually made it out of there?

Sasuke was still waiting for someone to come and retrieve him like his captain said they would. It drove him mad now that he was rested up he was forced to sit and wait...

With those letters.

Sasuke growled when he looked at the envelopes again.

He decided to bite the bullet and open the first one from Kakashi. There wasn't any way that he would write something to make him want to go home, so it was playing it safe to read his first.

 _First of all, you're an idiot if you're reading these before getting a good night's rest._

Sasuke blinked a few times after reading his former sensei's words.

That's right... He had gone through this as well, so he knew the order of things. He knew that Sasuke would most likely read his letter after the sleep deprivation trial.

 _Secondly, I want you to know that you don't need to worry about anything going on here. Itachi, Naruto, and I are all looking out for Sakura. She works hard and we have to remind her to take breaks most of the time, but of course, you know that._

Sasuke smirked to himself. He knew that trait of Sakura all too well. When they first started sleeping together, he intentionally seduced her just so she would actually get real rest and not just the cat naps she liked to have. It wasn't really resting, and it wasn't good for her body. It was a win/win for him. He got to make love to her, and make sure she was well rested.

 _Naruto is still angry that I didn't give him my recommendation to go along with you for the certification test. In all honesty, I had my doubts about you going so early in your life as well. As I think more about it, though, maybe I was wrong. You are ready, and it was just me not wanting to admit that the student was surpassing his sensei._

Sasuke scoffed. Kakashi was becoming soft.

 _I understand why you're doing this, and I commend you for it. While you're there, I do recommend that you think of a way to approach your father about your real reason for wanting to go ANBU._

 _I met with him after Itachi and I returned from leaving you. He asked if you had seemed to have any interest to any of the branch family girls. Your mother must have gotten to him because it doesn't sound like the Fugaku I know. He would normally just look at who had great test scores and potential to become the best kunoichi. Which is funny, because we all know how beyond brilliant that girl of yours is._

 _Either way, we both know you'll fight tooth and nail to avoid him. Just remember that you can't keep running forever._

 _Keep sharp, and remember what I said about not showing weakness._

 _-Kakashi_

Sasuke grunted and quickly turned the letter to ash. He didn't want to risk anyone reading anything about his personal life. He knew that everyone would know he was an Uchiha already because of the sharingan, but he was determined to act as a member of a branch family and not of the main house. If he didn't, everyone would automatically know who he was.

Sasuke dusted off the ash from his hands and opened Naruto's letter next.

 _Teme, I just want you to remember that you suck and you are the worst._

Sasuke snorted. "Well, thanks for the words of encouragement, you dobe."

 _I wish that I could have come with you! It's not fair that me and Sakura are forced to work with Sai on three-manned missions! He's so annoying! And not in the way you used to always call Sakura._

 _I mean he's REALLY annoying!_

 _He nicknamed me dickless!_

Sasuke held back a laugh. So Kakashi had decided to make Sai his replacement while he took the exams. He didn't know much of the painter ninja, just that he and Ino had gotten married. The Uchiha frowned at the memory of Sakura dragging him to the venue as _friends_ of all things.

Oh, how he wished that he could introduce Sakura as his wife. That was something that he was always envious when it came to weddings lately, and since he and his friends were getting older, it was becoming a more common thing.

 _Anyway, you know that writing isn't my thing. I just knew that Kakashi-sensei and Sakura were writing to you and didn't wanna be outdone by them! You're like my brother after all!_

 _Kick ass and take names for Team 7!_

 _-Naruto_

Sasuke repeated the ritual of turning the letter to ash. He started to open the letter from his parents next.

He glared at the handwriting on the first page, knowing it was from his father. Attached were pictures of some of his cousins. Sasuke didn't even bother reading it, knowing exactly what his father wrote. He was giving him choices now. None of them would be good enough for Sasuke. None of them were Sakura Haruno.

Sasuke burned his father's letter to ash, then moved on to his mother's.

 _Sasuke, please forgive your father for being so pushy about all of this. You need to understand where he's coming from. I hope you're doing well and resting as much as you can._

 _That girl that was on your genin team came by the other day to speak with your father. She's going to help Itachi and Rikka have a baby! She's so brilliant. We thought we were out of options at this point. I can't wait to see if what she does will really work. I trust her, though. She was trained by Lady Fifth, after all._

 _I'll keep you updated and let you know if you'll be an uncle soon!_

 _Love,_

 _Mom_

Sasuke smiled to himself. His mother liked Sakura.

He burned her letter like he did the others and looked at the last two in front of him. So far none of what he read wasn't anything that made him want to return home right away.

The Uchiha sighed and opened his brother's letter.

 _Brother,_

 _Sakura came today to meet with Father. She did rather well, considering he did all he could to dismiss her knowledge and wave her off as nothing better than one of our clan doctors. I could tell that Sakura was more concerned about staying in his good graces than boasting about her own accomplishments._

 _I could tell that some of Father's words got to her, though. He kept talking about making sure that the baby would have untainted blood. I could tell that struck a nerve with her, especially when we talked afterward. She wouldn't come out and say anything. She didn't want me to worry about her. I promise that once you're back, we'll approach Father about her together. She may not be an Uchiha, but her talent and abilities she possesses may be enough to save your relationship._

 _Keep your determination, Brother. I've got it handled from here._

 _-Itachi_

Sasuke frowned as he burned his brother's letter. So Sakura's visit with his father wasn't as great as he thought. His father had some nerve to even compare her with the clan's damn medics. She had saved the _Kages_ many times! And what did the clan medics do in comparison? Nothing, that's what. They were just good for the common cold and stitching up a few wounds.

He sighed as he held up the pinkette's letter. It was the last one, and probably the hardest one he'd read out of the others. He swallowed hard and tore the top of the envelope carefully.

 _Sasuke,_

 _I'm not sure where I can even start because I don't know if the ANBU reads this beforehand, but I'm going to write what I can._

 _I finally got to meet your parents. You really do look like your mom. She was very nice and accommodating when Itachi brought me to the compound. Your dad... Well, he's your dad, so I'm sure you know why I was slightly intimidated by him. I know his top concern is the clan though, so I really don't mind some of the things he said to me. Your clan is a proud clan, and I can understand why he's so particular about letting anyone become remotely close._

Sasuke felt his eye twitch. He was able to read in between the lines when it came to his lover's words. She was unsure of herself because of how Fugaku spoke to her, and she let him get to her because of the fact that he was his father and the head of Sasuke's clan.

She didn't deserve to feel that way. He had worked so hard to remind her that she wasn't useless like she thought of herself to be.

 _We decided to try embryo transfers first, which is basically where I'll inseminate her eggs outside of the womb, then implant them in her uterus to see if they'll take. She seems healthy enough to where she should be able to have a viable pregnancy, so I'm not worried about her health at all._

Sasuke shook his head. Of course, she went right into detail of what she planned on doing for Itachi and Rikka. He didn't understand anything that she wrote, either.

 _The only thing she's uneasy about is the concept of her possibly having more than one baby. I promised her that she'd be fine, so that made her feel a little better about it._

 _I think it would be fun, though. The thought of having twins or triplets kind of makes me smile. They deserve that joy and I know that the more children they have, the more your family would pay attention to them than to you. They really want a baby._

Sasuke could tell that she shed a couple of tears after that line by the little dry spots of wrinkled paper under her words.

 _It's silly of me because we never even talked about what we wanted out of our future. We've only worried over what would happen if your dad found out about us. Sasuke, what is it that you truly want out of this? I know you want to marry me, but is it really going to be that easy?_

 _I don't know... It might just be because you're not here to reassure me, but I can't help but feel this way when you're not around. I miss you._

 _I'll be okay, though. I know that this is the only thing we can do at this point. I can bear this pain of temporary loneliness more than what I could if I saw you marry another woman._

 _I love you and I wish you all of the success. Come back to me stronger than ever before._

 _-Sakura_

Sasuke could smell her scent as he went to burn the letter to ash. Her words weighed heavily on him, and it reminded the young that he could only ever want her.

He could do this. Most of all, he _had_ to do this. For them.

Once he had cleaned up the remains of the letters, a screech came over a loudspeaker as a microphone turned on.

"Congratulations, cadets. You've made it to your next challenge. Meet in the main hall in ten minutes for further instruction. You will be fed then. That is all."

"So... Time for round two, then." Sasuke picked up his mask and put it back on. He hated how restricting it felt after having it off for the last nine hours. However, he knew it was necessary.

He slipped his shoes back on and went out the door. He was ready to take on whatever else was thrown at him.


	4. Chapter 4

"One Year" Chapter 4

Sasuke didn't realize just how hungry he was until he had a tray of food from the mess hall in front of him.

Sure it wasn't his mother's cooking, it actually was quite bland, but it was food nonetheless.

Slowly, Sasuke took off his mask and laid it next to him. It was the first time he had shown his face in the same room as the other cadets.

He picked up his chopsticks and began to dig into his rice. A flash of one of the times he and Naruto raced to finish their food rose into his mind, causing a smirk to play on the Uchiha's lips.

Sakura would always get so angry when they would do things like that. Especially after she became skilled in medical ninjutsu since she would have to cure their stomach aches.

As a genin, life seemed too easy compared to what it was now. He was barely given the title jounin, and it felt like everything was hitting him all at once.

"Yo, you look like you could use an ear to hear you out."

A couple of cadets had seated themselves in front of Sasuke, breaking the raven-haired man from his thoughts.

"Yeah. What's with the serious face, bro? We've made it to the field training stage, so there's no reason to look so down."

Sasuke eyed the two men carefully. One was a red-headed man with light facial hair around his chin with dull blue eyes. The second was a blonde, who was definitely the more extroverted of the two. He had a playful glint in his brown eyes as he held out a hand to Sasuke.

"The name's Byakuu Shiba and my buddy here is Shinchi Kumo."

The Uchiha hesitantly took the man's hand and gave it a shake. "Sa-"

He cut himself off and cleared his throat. The young man knew that if he gave his real name, people would definitely know who he was.

"Sen Uchiha."

"Oh! So you're the Uchiha everyone said beat his captain within the first five minutes of the second test!"

Sasuke slowly nodded. Everyone was already talking about him.

"Ah well, good for you then!" The blonde grinned. "So, what's a guy like you doing here? Don't you Uchiha guys have the police force or something you sign up for to contribute to the village's protection? It's probably a whole lot easier than this hell we're putting ourselves through."

"I'm doing this to get away from my father." Sasuke truthfully answered. "He's one of those overbearing types so I thought if I went ANBU, this could get him off my back."

"Ohhh. I see what you mean." The blonde guy picked up his chopsticks and began to eat.

"My wife is the one that's making me do this." The red-headed man sighed as he dug into his own meal. "She thinks this will be a great income for us since she found out she's got a bun in the oven."

"Congrats!" His friend slammed a hand down onto the other man's back, causing him to choke a little.

The red-head turned and glared at the blonde. "Easy! You could have killed me!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and held back a smirk. The way those two were almost reminded him of his friendship with Naruto.

"So Sen," Byakuu turned his attention to the Uchiha. "What is your team's animal?"

Sasuke raised his brow. He remembered his brother saying something about an animal once before, but he couldn't remember the significance of it.

"You know," The blonde continued. "The barracks you're staying in, that's your field team that you'll be training with. We're with the boar guys."

"I think it was the hawk if I'm not mistaken," Sasuke answered as he laid his chopsticks across his tray after finishing his meal.

"Ah, so have you met your team's leader yet?"

"I tend to stay to myself," Sasuke said as he dusted off some rice that had found its way on to his mask.

"Well, I recommend you meet with your leader ASAP," Shinchi spoke up. "He'll be your ticket into the final test."

Sasuke raised his eyebrow in confusion. Itachi had never mentioned anything about a team leader before. "What do you mean by that?"

"Once you clear the field training, it's up to your team leader to say if you've passed or not." The red-head explained. "If they see you fit to go on, then you go on to the last challenge which is to lead your own team of ANBU in a faux mission to test your leadership capabilities."

"Yeah, why do you think only ten men make it out every year?"

Sasuke choked on his water that he was drinking. _TEN?!_ Itachi definitely didn't say anything about that, and neither did Kakashi for that matter!

Then again, the only reason the young man was even there was to buy time with Sakura in the long run. It really didn't matter that much if he made it to the last stage of the test as long as the medic was able to fulfill her part.

Sasuke's mind wandered to his lover as he silently wondered what she was doing right then. Was she succeeding in what they had planned?

* * *

"How long until we know the procedure was a success?" Itachi asked, stroking his wife's hand in an affectionate manner.

"I'd wait until after you're supposed to have your next cycle. If it doesn't come, we'll do a pregnancy test." Sakura cheerfully answered

"When will I be able to go home?" Rikka questioned. She was exhausted from lack of sleep the night before.

The pinkette gave the dark haired woman a smile. "Give it anywhere from four to six hours. As long as you're feeling up to it, you'll be just fine to go along like normal."

"Okay." She returned a weak smile. "Thank you, doctor."

Sakura left the room and heard Itachi follow behind her.

"Sakura, are you feeling okay?"

Sakura stood still, clutching her clipboard to her chest. She knew that something was irking him while they were standing in the room with Rikka.

"Yeah. Why do you ask?"

"I know you, Sakura. You've been somewhere else all day since we got here."

The pinkette bit on the inside of her cheek. He must have caught her coming out of the bathroom earlier.

"It's nothing, I promise. I've just been feeling a little sick lately is all."

"Are you sure?"

Sakura nodded and gave Itachi a weak smile. "I promise. Just worry about Rikka right now. I'll tell you if something is wrong."

Itachi and Sakura had a stare down for a few seconds before the Uchiha finally let out a sigh.

"Okay. I'll listen to your lies for now, but it's only because my wife needs me. I will be asking you about this again later, Sakura."

Sakura sighed and nodded. "Okay, Itachi. We'll talk then."

The man gave her a smile. "Thank you, Sakura."

He went back into Rikka's room and the pinkette made her way to her office. She would wait until Rikka was discharged to go home, so she supposed it was time to get caught up on her patient backlogs until then.

A few hours into her paperwork, Sakura's mother stopped by with a bento.

"Mom, I'm not a kid anymore. I know that I need to eat." Sakura grumbled as the box was sat in front of her.

"Sakura you may be living on your own now, but your habits don't change," Mebuki rolled her eyes at her daughter. "Now take a break and eat with me."

Sakura sighed and nodded. They went to her couch and set out the food on the coffee table in front of them. Sakura felt her stomach weaken at the scent of the fish that hit her face when she opened a lid of one of the bentos.

She quickly ran to her waste basket and released the little contents she had left in her system.

"Sakura?" Mebuki quickly ran to her daughter's side and held back her hair as she heaved. "Are you sick? This is usually your favorite."

"I-I think I might have the flu." Sakura choked out in between heaves.

Once she was able to stop, she took the water her mother held out to her and rinsed her mouth out.

"Sakura..." Mebuki hesitantly began. "Is there something you need to tell me? Ino said something about you not feeling okay for the last few days."

"What do you mean?" Sakura raised an eyebrow in confusion. She racked her brain trying to think of anything she might have been keeping from her mom.

Mebuki folded her arms across her chest. "Sakura, I was young once. I know you probably have a boyfriend you haven't told me or your father about."

Sakura's face heated up at her accusation. "Wh-what?"

"Could you be pregnant?"

Sakura dropped the cup of water she had been holding.

How could she have been so stupid?

The medic quickly ran to her desk and threw off all of the paperwork that was covering her desk calendar. She had marked all of the days of her cycle in red to keep up with it during her work load. Her eyes widened when she looked at the date.

Today was supposed to be the final day of her period.

"Sakura?" Mebuki gave her a worried look. "What's wrong?"

Sakura covered her mouth to muffle a sob that came up. "No... No no no."

Tears started flowing as she fell back into her chair. There was no way that she and Sasuke had been so careless. She always made sure to use some sort of protection.

Her mind flashed to the night before he left, and she silently cursed herself.

Mebuki came to her and put her hands on Sakura's shoulders. "Do you think you're pregnant?"

Sakura slowly nodded. "It's... Possible."

She felt a knife twist in her chest in that moment. She should have known before then. She had all of the signs, though it seemed like it was too early for them to be there. Exhaustion and vomiting were normal, but there was no way that it would be _that_ normal considering she was probably just a little under four weeks along.

And now her missed period.

She was a doctor, damn it! She should have realized beforehand!

Sakura felt her throat tighten after battling with herself for a few moments. "What am I going to do?"

"You're an adult now, dear." Her mother's eyes had tears in them when she spoke those words. "Whatever you decide, your father and I will stand by you."

Sakura hugged her mom tight. As she did, she felt her eyes rest on the picture of her team that they took when they became chunin. Her eyes met with Sasuke's in the frame, and in that moment she remembered a scare they had when they first became a serious couple.

* * *

Sakura was pacing in front of the three targets at team seven's training grounds. Sasuke was perched up on the middle log, trying to come to terms with what his girlfriend had sprung on him.

"Sasuke, I'm only sixteen." Sakura breathed out as she let a hand run through her hair. "I can't be a mom yet, and there's _no way_ your parents would be okay with this. I'm not an Uchiha."

"It's a little too late for that, don't you think?" Sasuke rolled his eyes. He was taking the news surprisingly well. "What do you want from this? I'll raise a child with you, Sakura. I don't care how old we are."

Sakura snapped her head up to her lover. "D-do you want to keep it?"

"Don't you?" Sasuke had a confused look on his face. He thought they were on the same page about this.

"W-well I do, but..." She looked away. "Our parents will be so upset."

"Well, I don't care what they think." Sasuke scoffed and jumped down from the target. "Do you honestly think I'd want you to get rid of _our_ baby just because of my clan's stupid rule?"

"Sasuke..."

His face was close to hers now.

"Sakura I told you that I'm going to marry you one day, and I mean it. So what if this is a little out of order?" He reached out his hand and pressed it to her abdomen. "I want this baby."

* * *

Even though it was just a scare, Sasuke was so serious back then.

Sakura wondered if he would say the same thing now. She was supposed to be giving Itachi and Rikka the chance to have a child, not her and Sasuke.

It had been a couple of hours and Sakura had been left alone since her mom decided that her daughter probably needed some time to let reality set in and think.

Rikka had been discharged without any complications, so Sakura was able to breathe easier for them.

It was now her turn to go home, but not before stopping by the hospital pharmacy.

"Ah, Doctor Haruno!" The pharmacy tech behind the counter gave her a huge grin. "I was hoping you were going to stop by. Could I take you out for dinner this weekend? I just saw the on call schedule, and I was thinking that since you're free and all-"

"I need a pregnancy test." Sakura bluntly cut off the young man. Sure, she felt bad for being so dry with him, but in that moment all who Sakura wished to talk to was Sasuke.

Since it obviously wasn't going to happen, she had plans to go home and write a letter she knew she'd never send to her lover. She was going to pretend that he would write back about how excited he was and say that he couldn't wait to be home to meet his future child.

The pharmacy tech had lost his smile as he rang up the medic. He must have realized that the test was for her and he had no chance of a date with her.

"Umm... Shu, right?" Sakura broke the silence as she handed him her money.

"Yes, ma'am." He quietly answered.

"I don't want you to feel bad, but I _did_ hear that Doctor Yama has quite the crush on you. She's a much better catch than I am too, that's for sure."

The young man's face lit up. "Really?"

"Yes." Sakura nodded and gave him a smile. "You should ask her."

"Th-thank you!" He bowed to her as he held out her paper bag.

Her smile turned weak as she took it from him. Hopefully, the young tech could find love with someone whose weekend plans didn't involve peeing on a stick.


	5. Chapter 5

"One Year" Chapter 5

Sakura couldn't hardly sleep the night before, knowing the first thing she would be doing the next morning.

Since Sai was on a mission, Sakura stole Ino away to help her keep her mind off of everything.

Sakura decided that the best way to do that was by coming clean about everything and telling Ino why she wasn't going to risk getting drunk.

Needless to say the blonde was pissed that her best friend didn't tell her about her relationship with the Uchiha, but she understood. Her father had said that Fugaku Uchiha wasn't one you wanted to mess with, especially when it came to his clan's business.

The girls had curled up on Sakura's bed at the end of the night, Ino holding Sakura and letting her cry out her frustrations.

The girls were still half asleep as they went into Sakura's bathroom together when they realized they were both awake.

"Pig, I can't pee with you watching me like that." Sakura groaned. "Turn the other way or something."

Ino rolled her eyes and obeyed the pinkette, letting out a groan of her own. "I can't help it! I'm so nervous, damn it!"

" _You're_ nervous?!" Sakura shouted from the toilet. "I'm the one peeing on this stupid thing!"

"Just get it over with, already!" Ino exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air.

After a few seconds of concentration, Sakura was finally able to go.

Once she was finished, they both scurried over to the counter and stared at the small stick as if their lives depended on the results they were waiting for.

Sakura felt like she had held her breath for eternity. The moment she saw the positive sign appear, her knees weakened.

She and Ino both sat on her bathroom floor in silence, not sure what to even say.

Sakura was _scared_. Deeply and utterly scared.

If Fugaku found out, she knew without a doubt he would either force her to terminate the pregnancy or would consider Sasuke an outcast.

Sasuke was too close to his brother and mother, and Sakura knew that she couldn't let either of those things happen. She was going to protect her baby with her life.

Still, she knew she would never be able to go through this pregnancy by herself. Her parents and Ino were there, and sure there was also going to be Naruto, Kakashi, Lady Tsunade, and even Shizune.

But none of them were an Uchiha and knew how to handle what came with the weight of that name.

Sakura had known branch family members that married and had children with non-Uchiha spouses. Their children almost always inherited the sharingan, and she was positive that with Sasuke being part of the head family, their child would not be an exception.

"Are you going to tell Sasuke?" Ino finally asked the long awaited question.

Sakura let out a deep breath and shook her head. "No. If I did, he would come home as soon as he read the letter."

Ino frowned. "But he kind of needs to, don't you think?"

"Not yet." Sakura's voice cracked. "I can't put this burden on him yet. He's already worried enough about my well-being as it is."

The blonde reached forward and brought her best friend into an embrace. "You know you can still cry, you idiot."

"Ino!" Sakura sobbed into her chest. "What am I going to do?"

Ino gently stroked the pinkette's hair. "Just let it all out for now. We'll figure out the rest later on."

* * *

Sasuke was actually pleasantly surprised by this next leg of the ANBU qualifications. They were all separated in groups of three to four cadets with one leader.

They all had the same objective, which was to follow a target closely for the next few months to learn his or her patterns of movement, and then make a plan on how they would subdue said target.

It was a test that Sasuke knew that Naruto would struggle with if he had been there, but Sasuke was fully confident that he would be able to take this task head-on.

He was known for his patience, after all.

They were all supposed to have their first meeting outside of the facility in three hours. Sasuke was to stock up on tools and meet the other members of the hawk, or "Taka" as the others liked to call themselves.

Sasuke definitely didn't know what to make of his team.

There were two women and three men, not including himself. They were all led by a stocky man by the name of Kuru.

None of them really seemed like much, but the cadets _had_ made it past the first test so that was saying something.

Kuru on the other hand was a very laid back guy. Sasuke couldn't even tell if he was the real deal, but the man's mask proved his identity.

It felt like time flew by, now that Sasuke had an objective laid out for him. He and his team were finally all gathered together in the midst of a cluster of trees.

"Okay, so we're going to start off with introductions." Kuru said, taking off his mask. "Don't worry, we're far enough from people being able to see us. We're a team, so we should take a minute to know who has our backs."

The four ninja all hesitantly followed their leader in removing their masks.

"Ah! See? Isn't that better?" The man laughed. "So, let's start with you on the left. What is your name and what is your chakra nature?"

"The name's Suigetsu," The man smirked. "I tend to make people a little wet, if you know what I mean."

The only girl in the group reached out and hit him on the head. "How many times have I said not to talk like that?!"

Sasuke glanced over to the squabbling ninja, doing his best not to chuckle at how similar they acted to Naruto and Sakura when the idiot said something wrong.

The girl had caught him looking, and stopped hitting the one who had introduced himself as Suigetsu.

"So, what would your name be?" She purred out as she made her way over to Sasuke.

The Uchiha rolled his eyes. He was used to the attention women gave him by now, but that didn't mean he was ever going to be okay with it. It was too damn annoying to tolerate at times, especially in situations like he currently was in. He had his mind focussed on one thing and one thing alone: Making it to the final leg of the ANBU qualification exams.

"Sen. Sen Uchiha." Sasuke swiftly turned away from the woman. "I use fire and lightening jutsu, but my sharingan has allowed me to copy all of the other elements so I am able to use them when the siutation calls for it."

"So cool!" She squeaked out. "I'm Karin Uzumaki, and I specialize in healing. Just let me know if we need to have some alone time, okay Sen?" The red-head winked.

Sasuke took another step back. "Tch."

"Okay, so what about you, carrot-top?" Kuru asked, looking over at the quiet giant that had stayed in place.

"Juugo." He simply answered.

They waited for him to say more, but he obviously wasn't one for words.

"Alright, then," Kuru said, clapping his hands together. "So I take it you four have a grasp on what this exercise is about."

"We're gonna be tracking someone, right?" Suigetsu asked.

"Exactly. It's going to be a friend of the village that is aware of what we are doing. They will stay in constant contact with me, and will tell me what your strongsuits and downfalls are. I will then in turn teach you how to improve where you lack skill. After we have tracked them for a few months, you will then each come up with a plan on how you would take them down if they were a target for assassination." Kuru explained. "The one with the best plan with the highest predicted percentage of success rate will move on to the final stage of becoming one of us."

"So who is our target?" Sasuke asked, ready to get started.

"He's located in the Hidden Rain Village." Kuru answered. "We're going to start making our way there, and once we have arrived I will give you his picture and nothing more."

"We're only supposed to go off of a picture?!" Karin whined. "How is that even fair?"

"You're wanting to become part of one of the essential forces of gathering information to aide the village. What else do you expect?" Kuru asked. "A picture should be more than enough to go on."

"He's right, you know." Suigetsu whispered, causing Karin to turn and hit his head. He only turned to water in defense.

Sasuke felt his eye twitch in annoyance. To compare these two to Sakura and Naruto was a mistake. They were definitely in a more annoying league of their own if that was even possible.

Dealing with them would definitely prove to be more challenging than the actual mission at hand.

* * *

 **Sorry for the short chapter, but I figured this would kind of get a good layout for me to start getting into the actual "meat" of the story, which is more involved with Sakura's situation at home than it is with Sasuke's ANBU qualifications. I'll be focussing more on Sakura than Sasuke in the next coming chapters, but I'll still be going back to Sasuke to show what he is up to at the same time Sakura is going through her situations. Thank you all for your continued love and support of this fic!  
** **~Ryn**


	6. Chapter 6

"One Year" Chapter 6

It had been almost a week since Sakura had taken the pregnancy test. She told herself that she was going to wait another couple of weeks until she allowed Lady Tsunade to examine her before telling anyone other than Ino and her mother.

But as it turned out, plans weren't a thing in Sakura's life. _Successful_ ones anyway.

Itachi had gone by her apartment in the early morning hours to walk her to the hospital. He had told his wife that he was going to do some training, which wasn't a lie so to speak, he just needed an excuse to go and see the pinkette with out any suspicion.

Sakura was shocked to see him standing at her door, to say the least.

"I-Itachi, what are you doing here?" She asked, forcing a smile to come forth as she greeted him. In all honesty, she really didn't have a whole lot of energy to see anyone at that moment considering she had just spent a good thirty minutes dry heaving.

Itachi cocked his head and touched the back of his hand to Sakura's forehead. "Sakura, are you sick? You're pale."

"No, no." Sakura put her arms in front of her, putting a little distance between herself and the Uchiha. "I feel just fine."

Itachi looked at her closely. "Are you sure? You look like you haven't gotten enough sleep. Are you eating right?"

Sakura inwardly groaned. She knew that Sasuke had asked him to look out for her, she just wasn't expecting him to know all of her known downfalls when it came to her personal health.

In all honesty, Sakura was hardly able to sleep because of her constant stress over the mess she found herself in. She was also unable to keep anything down, and she was pretty positive that she had lost weight in the process of trying to deal with morning sickness. It was an uphill battle that she felt like she was losing.

"I'm fine, Itachi. I just had a little cold over the weekend, but I'm better now." She quickly thought up to get the Uchiha off of the topic of her health. "How is Lady Rikka?"

Itachi gave her a look that signaled he knew what she was doing. "She's fine."

"That's great." Sakura smiled. "Is there anything you needed? I need to head to the hospital now."

"Let me walk you. It's why I came here in the first place."

"O-oh." Sakura's smile faded. "Okay."

She was terrified of Itachi finding out her secret. She had no clue what to expect from her lover's older brother when it came to something as huge as what she was keeping from him.

Sakura thought it wasn't fair to him or Rikka. They had been trying for a baby for _so long_ , but one mistake on her and Sasuke's part resulted in pregnancy.

She was afraid that Itachi would be angry.

The two shinobi walked in silence as they made their way to the hospital. The village was still dark and none of the shops had opened yet, making the walk more awkward than it should have been.

"Sakura, I know that you miss my brother but you really shouldn't be killing yourself over it." Itachi finally spoke.

"I do miss Sasuke, but that's not it." Sakura tried her best to reassure him. "There's just a lot going on right now is all."

Itachi sighed. "I hope you get a break soon because you look awful. My brother would be very upset if he saw you in the shape you're in right now."

Sakura looked down. She knew that if Sasuke was there, he wouldn't be letting her take normal shifts at the hospital and basically forcing her to change her entire routine around her pregnancy.

He would be very upset if he knew she was pushing herself like she was.

Sakura suddenly stopped when a wave of nausea hit her again.

 _Damn it!_ She cursed to herself. _I thought I was done with this earlier._

Itachi looked over his shoulder. "Sakura?"

She quickly dashed over to a nearby trash can and released the bile that had built up in her stomach.

Once she had finished, Itachi quickly came from behind her and threw her over his shoulder.

"W-wait a minute! What are you doing?!"

"I'm taking you to Lady Hokage, seeing as she may be the only one that can talk some sense into you. You need to be examined."

"Itachi, I promise that I'm okay! This is..." Her voice trailed off. Was she really able to admit it out loud to him?

She decided that she couldn't. She'd rather admit to her shishou what she had done than admit it to Itachi.

"You can put me down. I'll go see Lady Tsunade."

* * *

When Itachi and Sakura arrived, they knew they would be scolded for waking the woman. However since Itachi was insisting that the pinkette needed to be examined immediately, Tsunade knew that it must have been really important.

Tsunade had given the two instructions to wait in her office while she got dressed.

Sakura fidgeted in her seat, her nerves stirring even more than before when she realized just exactly what kind of mess she was in.

Itachi eyed her from the doorway, making sure that she didn't run before the Hokage was able to examine her. He had never seen Sakura look so nervous before.

Once the blonde woman came into the room, Itachi bowed to her in respect and thanked her for waking up to assist Sakura.

Her brown eyes switched from the Uchiha to Sakura, who wasn't able to make eye contact with her.

"Sakura, you look like shit." Tsunade yawned as she walked over to her. "No wonder Itachi insisted you come here."

Sakura still refused to look up at her shishou, causing the older woman to realize that something really was off.

"Itachi, would you mind leaving the room for a few moments while I take care of Sakura?"

"Yes, ma'am." Itachi nodded and put his hand on the doorknob. "I'll be right outside if you need me."

Once he left, Tsunade stood directly in front of Sakura with her hands on her hips.

"So, are you going to admit what is wrong or do you really want me to force it out of you?"

Sakura kept her eyes on the floor as she fought to keep her composure. She slowly nodded and swallowed hard.

"I..." Her shoulders trembled as she tried to speak. Sure admitting it to Ino and her mother had been hard, but this was her _shishou_. She was afraid of the look of disappointment that was sure to come when she told her what was really wrong.

"Sakura!" Tsunade called out her name, her voice signaling the pinkette of her impatience.

"I'm pregnant." She quickly squeaked out.

Tsunade's eyes widened at the young girl's admission. "What?"

Sakura finally met her eyes with Tsunade's. "Shishou... I'm pregnant."

Tsunade sighed and leaned back against her desk. "You're positive?"

"I took a test last week, and I've had all of the symptoms. Not only that, but I've felt exhausted. It's like my chakra supply can't keep up with the demand. I'm not using more than I normally do, but I know that a lot of the reason is that it's being transferred to the baby to establish its own chakra." Sakura quickly spoke.

"And I'm guessing it's Sasuke's?"

Sakura straightened at her words. "H-how did you-?"

"Sakura, I've watched you two from the time you were thirteen. I'm not oblivious to anything that goes on in my village."

Sakura looked away, knowing that she had a point. It was useless to keep anything from her.

"All right, lift up your shirt," Tsunade ordered as she walked over to the pinkette.

"H-huh?"

"Sakura, you know as well as I do that you aren't able to examine your own body fully when it comes to something like this. Let me take a look."

Sakura looked down and obeyed what her shishou ordered for her to do.

Tsunade ran chakra into her hand and placed it on Sakura's lower abdomen. She wasn't surprised that Sakura was right when she said she was pregnant, but she _was_ surprised at the sensation that she had felt.

She tried to hide the amusement on her face as she concentrated, but Sakura was quick to notice.

"Is everything alright?"

Tsunade nodded and pulled back her hand. She was doing her best not to laugh.

"Oh, Sakura. You have yourself into some deep shit, don't you?"

Sakura sighed. "I do..."

"Fugaku's youngest son, huh... I never realized he had it in him to defy his father as much as he has." The older woman chuckled. "A baby is one thing, but what you two have done is on a whole other level."

Sakura's head snapped up at her words. "You're not going to tell him, are you?!"

"Not at all," Tsunade smirked. "I was referring to the fact of what I felt in there when I examined you just now."

Sakura raised her brow and tilted her head in confusion.

"You really haven't noticed it compared to the singleton pregnancies you have seen in your career?" Tsunade asked. "I'm surprised at you, Sakura. My own student is unable to tell when two chakra signatures are forming within her own body."

* * *

Sasuke stretched and sat up in his sleeping bag. He had slept very well. Sleeping on the forest floor was always relaxing to him for some reason or another.

"Okay, you guys!" Kuru clapped his hands together. "We're getting closer to Ame, so you might as well enjoy this dry weather while you can."

"Are you kidding? The sun isn't out! All we can see are the dark clouds above our heads!" Karin whined.

"It's only going to get worse the closer we get, so quit your complaining." Suigetsu rolled his eyes.

"He's right." Juugo flatly agreed.

Sasuke had finished putting his sleeping bag away and put his backpack on his shoulders. He wasn't in the mood for his teammate's antics.

"Sen, I'll have you take the lead today," Kuru spoke after he had taken a drink of his canteen.

"Ah." Sasuke nodded and gave a smirk. "We'll leave in five minutes, then."

"Are you kidding?!" Suigetsu complained. "We still haven't had anything to eat yet."

"You ate plenty last night," Sasuke said, looking over his shoulder. "The sooner we get to Ame, the sooner we can get started."

Kuru looked at the young Uchiha with amusement on his face. He was the only one out of the four that had shown actual determination to get things done. He had hoped that with him leading for the day, his attitude would rub off on the others.

"Sen's right!" Karin suddenly chimed in. She had latched herself onto the man's arm to show her devotion.

Sasuke slipped away from her hold and glared at her. He hated when she did things like that, and it was becoming more and more common as the days went by and she became more comfortable with touching him like she had.

She kept making propositions to go into the forest alone together for some "quiet time". Sasuke would only put her in a strong genjutsu as a response. Karin always thought it was because the Uchiha was too shy to reciprocate her feelings, but Sasuke kept insisting that wasn't the case.

His mind always wandered to Sakura when Karin clung to him. He imagined the pinkette smashing the redhead's face in with her monstrous strength for even saying his name.

Oh, how he wished that were the case. Sadly, he had to avoid her on his own in the most introverted way he knew how.

Sakura was always the extrovert out of the two of them. He supposed that's why they worked so well not only as a team but as a couple.

He thought about the time that Kakashi had accepted a mission for them when they had just become Chunin.

Sakura and Sasuke were supposed to masquerade as a young couple on a date to get some information from a target that was supposedly plotting something against the village.

"Oh, Kai!" Sakura giggled as they sat at their table. "You're so shy sometimes!"

Sakura's normal cherry blossom hair was changed to a dark brown, and she wore a _very_ revealing outfit. Her job was to attract the target's attention with her body while she and Sasuke spoke. Later on, Sasuke would leave Sakura alone and she would bait him into approaching her.

After a few moments of flirtatious giggling and teasingly pulling on Sasuke's hair, Sasuke had noticed the target's eyes staring them down. He took that as his cue to pull himself away from his girlfriend.

"Ah. Mayu, I'll be back." He gently spoke as he got up and left the table.

Once the coast was clear, the target made his way over to Sakura.

"Your boyfriend doesn't seem like he's much fun, does he?" He smirked down at her with his yellow smile.

"Oh, that's just how he is." Sakura insisted with a cheery giggle. She purposely made sure that her boobs bounced as she talked with him.

"He doesn't seem to notice the fantastic beauty he has in front of him if you ask me." He said, slipping into the booth next to Sakura and putting his arm around her shoulders.

"Oh, do you think so?" Sakura feigned innocent cluelessness on her face.

"I _know_ so." The man leaned to whisper in her ear. "But how about I show you what a _real_ man should do with a girl like you?"

It took all of Sasuke's strength to keep from jumping the man for the way he was all over Sakura. He had to keep reminding himself that it was all for a mission as Sakura went along with what the man offered and he led her from the pub they were in.

He had joined Naruto and Kakashi in tracking the man as he escorted Sakura to the nearest inn. It drove him nuts as he waited for Sakura's signal from the trees outside of the building.

He knew she was capable of holding her own, hell there were times where she nearly bested him in their sparring matches, but he couldn't help but worry about her. This was her first seduction mission after all.

"Oi, Teme." Naruto spoke from his side. "You don't think she's actually going to let him get that far with her do you?"

Sasuke swallowed. He knew that Sakura's assignment was to get as much information as she could out of him as possible. He knew that she would go as far as she needed to.

"Don't sweat it," Kakashi said. "She's not going to do anything that would make any of us think less of her."

Kakashi was right. Sakura was completely devoted to Sasuke, and there was no way that she was going to let that man defile her in any way.

They weren't prepared for what the man was capable of, however. Even though they were promised that the mission would be an open and shut assignment, they weren't aware of his specialty in paralytics.

Sasuke was the first to realize something was wrong when he felt her chakra flare up from the inside of the building. He quickly activated his sharingan, hoping to see the form of her body fighting with the man. That wasn't the case, though.

Sakura was being pinned on the ground of the room she was in.

"Sasuke wait-"

Before Kakashi could finish his sentence, the Uchiha had disappeared in a flash.

He jumped right through the window, breaking the glass with his chidori.

All his saw was red when he had seen Sakura lying naked on the ground in her true appearance. The man had seen right through it from the beginning.

The fight was quick, and thanks to Sakura's medical ninjutsu she had managed to keep the target alive. Kakashi had reprimanded Sasuke for his actions, but the boy didn't give a damn.

All Sasuke really remembered after that was the furious love-making he had with Sakura after they had gotten back to the village. He wanted her to know he was sorry and that he refused to let her go in alone in that sort of situation ever again.

He knew that Sakura hadn't been afraid, though. She always knew that he was going to protect her no matter what.

"Alright, it's been five minutes," Sasuke told his group as he turned back to them. "Let's move out."

And he was going to continue to do all he could to keep them together, no matter what.


	7. Chapter 7

"One Year" Chapter 7

 _At eight weeks, your hearts have split into two chambers and will soon develop into four. Your hearts are also beating almost twice as fast as mine... If that's even possible. 150 beats per minute and you're becoming stronger with each beat. My stomach does flips every time I think of the thought of really having you two here with me. Just don't show up too fast, okay?_

 _~Mom_

* * *

Sakura swore that she saw a bump forming by week eight.

The moment that Tsunade had revealed to Sakura that she was carrying twins caused her to realize that she wouldn't be able to hide her pregnancy for as long as she would have liked to, so she stood in front of the mirror looking for any slight change in her body shape any time that she got the chance.

"Sakura?" Ino had walked into the pinkette's office as she was staring at herself in her mirror.

The blonde giggled when Sakura quickly tugged her shirt back over her abdomen. "You're not going to grow overnight, you know."

"I know that." Sakura huffed. "I'm just worried at how fast they're going to grow is all."

She went to her desk and sat in her chair. Ino sat a couple of dishes in front of her from the cafeteria.

"It's already time for lunch?" Sakura groaned. She was finally able to eat better since Tsunade had made her special medicine to help with her nausea, but food still tended to overwhelm Sakura.

"Come on, forehead girl. You've got two growing babies to feed so eat up."

Sakura sighed and removed a lid from one of the bowls. Lucky for her, the chefs had made miso soup.

Her mouth watered against her will, causing Ino to laugh again.

The blonde sat down in a chair in front of Sakura's desk and unpacked her own meal.

"So how is the ER?" Sakura asked. Ino had taken over the ER duties since Sakura was more demanded in the clinic. Tsunade decided it was a better way to take some of Sakura's workload off of her shoulders.

"Oh, it's been nothing that I can't handle," Ino smirked. "You were right when you said the flu was being more aggressive this year. How have you been holding up?"

Sakura took a sip of her soup and sighed. "I'm still not able to sleep well at night. I keep on having these nightmares where Lord Uchiha finds out everything."

Ino frowned. "That's not good. Do you think it's because you haven't told anyone else yet?"

"I'm not sure, but I've decided to tell Itachi about it the next time we meet with each other."

"What?!" Ino gasped. "But what if he tells his dad?"

Sakura shook her head and smiled to herself. "He won't do that. He loves Sasuke too much."

The pinkette turned her attention to her rice and sighed. She had grown bored having to stay in her office for a majority of the day. She really missed the fast-paced work of going back and forth from the clinic to ER.

"Are you okay?" Ino asked.

"I just wish that Lady Tsunade didn't treat me as if I were breakable."

"Sakura, you need to slow down. That's the whole reason behind you being put in the clinic. Once you have the babies, then maybe she'll let you resume all of your duties. You're a healthcare professional, so you should know the importance of staying healthy enough to tend to your patients."

Sakura sighed. "I know that, but I can't help the fact that I still want to do more. It helps keep my mind off of everything." She felt her chest grow tight and her eyes glossed over with tears. "I really miss Sasuke, and this pregnancy isn't doing me any favors. I mean, look at me. I'm just a good for nothing hormonal mess."

"Hormonal mess is right, but good for nothing is completely off!" Ino stood up and put her hands on her hips. "Where is the Sakura Haruno I know? Last I checked, you were still a kick ass medical ninja who wasn't afraid to back down from anything life handed her. Well, guess what, Sakura this is your life now so you need to pull up your big girl panties and deal with it."

Sakura looked up at Ino with wide eyes. She was right. This was her life now.

"Thank you, pig." She wiped her eyes and mustered up a smirk. "I needed that."

* * *

Sasuke seemed that he was growing more and more used to operating in the shadows as the days went by.

They always operated in groups of two when they followed their target, switching between twelve-hour intervals. On his off time, he slept or took care of his ninja tools. More specifically, his blade that Kakashi gifted him with before starting the qualifications.

He spent a lot of time honing is skills to be able to run chidori through the blade. Kakashi was shocked when Sasuke first approached him with the idea.

 _"Now, Sasuke... You do know that a sword is meant for protecting and not taking away lives, right?"_

Sasuke was sixteen the first time that he showed interest in working with swords. He was always curious as to why many shinobi chose not to go with something of that nature.

 _"You sound like you got that from your stupid book." Sasuke scoffed. "I just think it would be useful is all."_

 _"Are you sure it's because you don't want to look lame next to Naruto's rasengan?" Kakashi smirked. His best friend had finally mastered the rasengan and was able to do so much more with it than what Sasuke was able to do with his chidori._

 _"Tch. That idiot just wishes he was as cool as me." Sasuke grumbled, folding his arms._

In all reality, the whole reason that Sasuke was experimenting with ideas was that he needed to become stronger to prove to his father that he was as brilliant and capable as his brother.

He wanted to show off to his father so he could protect Sakura when he came out with the news that she had given him that morning.

He didn't want to be written off as some sort of head family failure because he had fallen in love with the wrong kind of person compared to what the stupid clan ruled to be propper.

He wanted to protect his little growing family from being treated like outcasts.

Also, he wanted to make sure that if anything happened to him Sakura and their child would be able to fall back onto strong shoulders for support.

He needed to learn to wield a sword, and this would be the time to do it.

The first time that he showed Kakashi what was going on through his mind when it came to the lightening blade, his sensei was impressed.

 _"You turned it into a literal lightening blade." He smirked behind his mask, raising his brows in amusement. "You still have a long way to go before it's right, but I see the potential."_

 _Sasuke returned his smirk, completely out of breath from his training. "Of course you do. I'm the one that thought of the idea, after all."_

He and Kakashi continued on with a secret training for a few weeks when Sasuke was finally ready to reveal to his teammates his new technique.

 _"Alright since Sakura was finally able to take a break from the hospital for today, why don't we let her and Sasuke spar this time?"_

 _"WHAT?! But Sensei, I am Sasuke's training partner." Naruto whined. "And it's been a week since we got any actual good missions. Please let me spar with him!"_

 _Sasuke and Sakura gave unsure glances at each other. No one else knew about their possible child but them. If she backed down then, Kakashi and Naruto would definitely know something was up. And everyone knew that Naruto couldn't keep a secret._

 _"Sure, I'm up for it." Sakura finally spoke up after stretching a bit. "I can't let myself get rusty, after all."_

 _Sasuke swallowed, trying to keep his face as stoic as possible. "Hmph. You sound confident."_

 _"But of course," Sakura said as she put on her black gloves. "I am a pupil of the Fifth Hokage."_

 _Sasuke clicked his tongue. He knew she was probably as nervous about fighting as he was. They didn't want to risk the possibility of hurting their child, but this looming threat of Fugaku finding out about them outweighed that fear._

 _"Come at me with all you got!" Sakura smirked as she launched herself towards him. What she meant was "Take it easy on me, okay?"_

 _They spent a good part of their spar just throwing shuriken and kunai from a distance. It was annoying Naruto, so of course his loud mouth had to say something._

 _"Hey, what is this?! Sakura you're normally in my face trying to punch me by now, and Sasuke you'd be trying to hit me with your most powerful attack! Just because you have the hots for each other doesn't mean that you can let up on when you're training."_

 _"Tch," Sasuke growled. Naruto was right. If they stayed at a distance for much longer, they would definitely notice how Sasuke was trying to avoid Sakura's abdomen at all cost. He had to do it then._

 _Sasuke quickly unsheathed his sword at his side and smoothly deflected the kunai Sakura had thrown at him._

 _"I wanted to use this on the Dobe, but I guess I can show you now that you're here too," Sasuke smirked and ran his chakra through the blade. "Don't let it slice you like a tomato, okay?"_

 _Sakura gave him a smirk in reply. He had said the word, which meant that she was to dodge at the last minute. She wasn't sure how fast his attack was going to hit, so the only thing she could do was build her chakra at her feet and wait to jump away from it._

 _When he unleashed the spear, it almost threw her off guard. It was something she had never seen before. She narrowly missed getting hit through her chest._

 _Once the smoke from the attack cleared, Sakura was on the ground with her eyes glued to the tree she was just standing in front of moments before. Sasuke's chidori spear had hit it in just the right spot to break the trunk into thousands of small pieces._

 _"Okay, I think that's enough you two," Kakashi said with a few claps._

 _Sasuke went to Sakura and helped her to her feet._

 _"That was amazing." She whispered._

 _"I learned it for you, you know," Sasuke responded with a volume only she could hear._

 _Sakura smiled as her cheeks turned pink._

 _"Oi! Teme that was so awesome! I can't believe yo-" Naruto cut himself off and his eyes filled with horror. "Sakura are you okay? You're bleeding!"_

Sasuke frowned, avoiding the last part of his memory. Sakura tried to tell him over and over again that it wasn't his fault that her cycle had come in that moment. She kept insisting that it was still too early to tell if she was actually pregnant beforehand and that she shouldn't have told him in the first place.

That was a rough time in his life after that happened. He knew that he said that he was prepared to raise a child with Sakura, but he didn't realize that he actually whole-heartedly _wanted_ to have a child with her until after she said she was pregnant.

"Sen~" A singsong voice came from outside of the room he was staying in. "Suigetsu and Juugo will be needing us to relieve them soon. I'm ready whenever you are."

Sasuke sighed. His night partner was Karin, and he definitely wasn't in the mood to deal with her antics after thinking about _that_ memory.

"I'll be ready in a moment," Sasuke called back.

He finished polishing his blade and put it back in its sheath. After being satisfied with the way he had it tied to his body, he nodded at his reflection in approval.

His sensei was right. His blade was meant to protect, and he was going to use it to protect his dream to make Sakura his wife.

* * *

Later that afternoon Sakura was getting ready to leave when Itachi suddenly appeared in her office.

"I really wish you'd stop scaring me like that," Sakura said as she grabbed her chest to steady her heartbeat.

She had been gathering up files and putting them away, not paying attention to what was going on around her.

"Is everything okay?"

Itachi nodded and sat down on one of Sakura's lounging chairs as she moved around the room. "I just thought I would stop by before heading back home. I got a letter from Sasuke."

Sakura's eyes widened. "Really?"

He handed her an envelope with her name on it.

"It was delivered via animal summoning, so he only had one person to choose to deliver to. He said he'll write back again next month."

"Thank you, Itachi." Sakura smiled as she took it. She sat across from him as she stared at the handwriting.

"You look better than you did a few weeks ago. I'm sorry I haven't been around. I just got back from a mission yesterday."

"It's okay," Sakura reassured him. "I actually needed time to gather my thoughts before I talked to you again."

"Why? Is something wrong?"

Sakura sighed and sat Sasuke's letter to the side.

"First, tell me how Lady Rikka is? I haven't met with her in a few weeks. Has she had another cycle?"

Itachi raised his brow. "Actually, she hasn't. We're waiting a little while longer before jumping to take a test to know for sure."

Sakura felt a little better after hearing that. Maybe Rikka's ET was a success. She didn't feel as guilty for what she was about to reveal to him.

"That's great news. Just book an appointment with the clinic when you're ready for me to have a look." She beamed.

"So... What did you want to talk to me about then?"

Sakura let out a deep breath. "Itachi, I'm pregnant."

There, it was out in the open between them. She found that Itachi always preferred things to be blunt and to the point, and for Sakura, it _needed_ to be cut and dry before she started crying again.

Itachi chuckled, to Sakura's surprise. She expected his reaction to be totally different.

"Sakura, don't you think I've known this?"

Her eyes widened. "You've known?!"

"When you and Lady Hokage were in her office, I heard everything from the door," Itachi explained. "I have just been waiting for you to tell me yourself."

Sakura was shocked. Itachi hadn't approached her about it because he wanted her to be ready to come to terms with it all.

"If the reason that you didn't tell me until now was because of mine and Rikka's situation, I get it." He gave her a soft smile but quickly turned serious again. " However, please don't keep important things like that from me later on in the future. Otherwise, I won't be able to help you."

Sakura looked down. Itachi was right. Keeping secrets wasn't helping anyone.

"I take it you're fully prepared to go through this pregnancy with out my father's knowledge?"

The pinkette nodded her head in determination. "I will not risk Sasuke's relationship with your family because of this."

"Are you planning on telling Sasuke before he comes home?"

Sakura frowned and shook her head. "He'll want to come home if I do. Sasuke can't come home yet no matter how much I really want him to be here with me. Not until I've fulfilled my promise to him. I'm going to keep on working to make sure that you and Rikka have the child or children you deserve. No matter what the situation becomes. You're precious to him, which makes you precious to me."

"And..." Her cheeks pinkened as she looked away. "We'll need him to take more missions as ANBU since we're having twins after all. Childcare expenses aren't a joke."

Itachi chuckled at that. She was already thinking that far ahead.

The dark-haired man stood and handed Sakura a small box he had in his kunai pouch.

"I've been waiting weeks for you to tell me about this, and this was the only thing I could think of giving to you for now."

Sakura took the small box and looked up at him as if she were asking if it were okay to open it.

Itachi nodded and so Sakura ripped the white wrappings off of it and opened the lid. She was a little surprised when she saw two worn metal rattles neatly secured in a bed of cotton.

"I dug those up the other day," Itachi explained as Sakura ran her fingers over them. "They were mine and Sasuke's. There are another few things I'm willing to part with. The rest I'm going to keep for my own children, of course, but I thought you would like to have these."

Sakura felt hot tears run down her cheeks. She quickly put the lid back on the box and furiously rubbed at her eyes. "Ugh. These stupid hormones!"

She took a few seconds to regain her composure and finally reached forward and embraced Itachi. "Thank you so much. This means a lot."

"Sakura even if my father won't accept them, remember that I do."

It was with those words that her lover's brother spoke, Sakura was able to carry on.

* * *

 **Thanks everyone for reviewing and the questions and just loving this story in general.**

 **As for a question I got the other day, someone asked me why I chose Rikka to be Itachi's wife over Izumi.**

 **Welllllll... I honestly forgot about her. -Is shot-**

 **But I'm also kind of glad that I chose not to put Izumi into this story because of where I'm going to go with it. Rikka doesn't die or anything, but I'm not going further than that much. It's nothing too bad, but I wouldn't want to have Izumi in Rikka's shoes is all.**

 **Thanks again for all of your love and support!**

 **~Ryn**


	8. Chapter 8

"One Year" Chapter 8

 _Twelve weeks and I'm falling more and more for you two each day._

 _I've done my research, and you should be hiccuping and working on other reflexes in there by now. Even though I can't feel you two move just yet, you're changing the world around me. I can only guess that you'll be here a little bit before the fall weather comes._

 _You have friends and family here that are excited to meet you._

 _~Mom_

* * *

"Naruto!" Sakura huffed as she put her hands on her hips. The idiot had become overprotective over the course of the last week since she told him about her... condition.

They had gone shopping after Sakura offered to make dinner as a reward for leading his first successful genin team mission. Sakura wasn't paying a whole lot of attention as they walked when she accidentally ran into Kiba.

Naruto took it upon himself to pick a fight against the man because he should have been careful about where he was standing.

"But what if you had gotten hurt?" Naruto whined.

"It's not a big deal," Sakura said as she folded her arms. "I'm not fragile. Plus, I should have paid more attention to where I was going."

Sakura turned and bowed to Kiba, forcing Naruto down with her. "Sorry, Kiba."

"It's no big deal." Kiba shrugged, but suddenly sniffed as if he caught a strange whiff of something. He narrowed his eyes and suddenly stepped closer to Sakura and sniffed again.

Her face reddened at his sudden proximity. "Wh-what are you doing?"

"I didn't realize that you two had _that_ kind of a thing going on," Kiba smirked.

"W-wait! What?!" Sakura squeaked. How did he know so fast?

"Pregnant women smell different." Kiba chuckled as if he could read her mind.

"Wait, you think that Sakura and I are..." Naruto turned and looked at Sakura with wide eyes.

"That's not it at all!" Sakura put her hands up in defense.

"Oh?" Kiba raised his brow.

"Yeah! Me and Sakura aren't dating or anything. We're just friends!" Naruto loudly proclaimed.

"Oh... My mistake then." Kiba blinked. "But you are pregnant, that's for sure."

Sakura turned away, trying to hide her blush. "Y-yeah..."

"Don't worry." Kiba laughed. "I'm not gonna say anything."

"Please don't." Sakura sighed. "Not a whole lot of people know yet."

"So, if Naruto isn't the kid's dad... Then who is it?" Kiba finally asked.

Sakura's shoulders stiffened. She didn't know why she wasn't prepared for this question because it was a logical question to be asked after all.

Plus, Sakura wasn't associated with many males of the village. Thankfully Sasuke had been gone for a while, so no one was going to suddenly jump to him. There was only one other person that popped up in her mind, and if she had thought harder she probably would have said she got pregnant while off at another village during a one night stand.

"Well... It's Lee of course." Sakura blurted out as if her mouth had a mind of its own.

Naruto and Kiba both gave Sakura shocked looks. Naruto knew Sasuke was the father and he couldn't understand why Sakura would say the kid's father was Bushy-Brows. Kiba had known that Lee had a thing for Sakura but he hadn't realized that they had gotten sexual.

 _What have I done?_ Sakura inwardly groaned as she forced a smile. It was then that she realized that she needed to call in a favor to Lee.

 _A really huge favor._

* * *

Sasuke found himself unable to sleep when he returned to his room.

Sakura had told him once before that sunlight caused the brain to think that you were supposed to be active. That was the downfall of working at night. He needed to figure out a way to exhaust himself enough to make his mind realize that he required sleep.

His hand twitched when he thought of one idea.

"Tch." He turned on his side. He was never one to succumb to something like that.

Though... It had been roughly three months since he and Sakura had sex.

The Uchiha inwardly groaned. He knew that his hand wouldn't do any justice compared to that night. She was just so... determined to break his mind the last time they were together.

 _"Sa-su-ke." She playfully whispered his name in his ear as she came up from behind him._

 _He had been waiting for her to get out of the bath. He had come to tell her goodbye. His intentions were to spend his last night with her just sleeping. Nothing more._

 _"Sakura." Sasuke breathed out. Her hands were roaming all over him at this point._

 _He felt himself stiffen when he realized she was only wrapped in a towel. He had always known her to dress in her bathroom, so she must have known that Sasuke was waiting for her._

 _"You know... A year is a long time..." She kissed his neck in between words._

 _"Hn." Sasuke nodded and turned to where she was facing him. "A really long time."_

 _Sakura giggled as she leaped up and wrapped her legs around his waist. She moaned in his ear as she tried to entice him into playing along._

 _"Sakura, I have to leave early. I don't think we should-"_

 _Sakura pulled back and gave him a slight pout. "You mean you're really going to make me go so long without you making love to me?"_

 _Sasuke clicked his tongue in annoyance. She had planned on doing this all along when he told her he was going to be staying with her that night._

 _Sakura huffed and removed herself from Sasuke's body. "Well, if you're going to be that way then I guess I'm going to have to do what I was planning on doing while you're gone."_

 _Sasuke folded his arms and looked at his lover with an amused glint in his eyes. "Oh? And just what would that be?"_

 _The pink-haired woman gave him a smirk and winked. "Wouldn't you like to know?"_

 _The look on her face said it all. She wasn't going to tell him. She was going to show him._

 _Sakura made a clone of herself that transformed into a perfect replica of Sasuke in turn._

 _"It's not quite the same, but it'll do~" Sakura hummed as she pulled the clone to her and started to kiss it in a hungry manner._

 _Sasuke swallowed hard. He couldn't believe that she had the nerve to even think of doing something like this in front of him. It was like a ninja's ultimate way of masturbation._

 _"Tch. Annoying woman." Sasuke growled and pulled Sakura away from the clone. "If you're going to waste your energy, then waste it on the real thing."_

 _He hungrily smashed his lips against hers and quickly removed the towel she was wrapped in and tossed it somewhere in the room._

 _Sakura pulled back and smirked as she dismissed the clone. She had gotten her way after all._

 _Sasuke narrowed his eyes. He wasn't going to let her flaunt her victory for long. He swiftly brought his left hand down to her warmth and began working at her little bundle of nerves with the pressure that usually made her go crazy._

 _"S-Sasuke." Sakura quickly leaned forward and buried her face into his neck. She was already being so sensitive to his touch._

 _"You started this. Don't check out on me now." Sasuke chuckled as he pushed her down on her mattress._

 _"I'm not." She breathed out. And she made good on her word because she swiftly knocked him back and took control of the situation._

Sasuke growled in annoyance when he heard his door slide open. Karin had become more and more brave as time went by.

 _Tch. Just as I was getting to the good part._ He inwardly complained to himself when he felt her try to sneak under his covers.

"What are you doing, Karin?" He asked, trying to make his voice as venomous as possible.

She stiffened, not realizing that he was wide awake. "O-oh Sen! It's just that it's getting really cold lately and I just-"

"Get out of my room," Sasuke growled.

"O-okay!" She quickly ran out, leaving him alone again.

"Tch. Stupid woman." Sasuke grunted.

She had ruined his mood and he wasn't able to continue to lavish himself in his memories.

* * *

Sakura was thankful that she had her friends. She had no clue how she planned on getting through all of this without them. Even after Sasuke came home she still had no clue how everything was going to play out with his family. Her friends were going to be a constant in this and when she was finally able to tell all of them the truth about her relationship with Sasuke, she would make sure to tell each and every one of them just how grateful she was to them.

"Thank you for coming out so suddenly, Lee." Sakura smiled as her friend walked into the restaurant they had agreed to meet at.

"Sakura! It's not a problem at all!" He beamed. "You said it was important, so of course I had to cancel all of my plans and come here right away."

Yeah, that was just like him. He would do anything for her. Right now, she really hoped that anything meant _anything._

The waitress came and served them tea in that moment, which Sakura was thankful for so she could use the time to gather her jumbled thoughts. Once she left, they each took a long drink of their tea.

Sakura sat her cup down and sighed. "Lee... I screwed up."

The bushy-browed ninja tilted his head in confusion. "What is the matter? Is everything okay?"

Sakura shook her head. "I got caught up in a lie, and I have a huge favor to ask of you."

This was really strange news to Lee. He had never known his beautiful cherry blossom to be a liar, so there must have been a good reason she thought to do so.

"Lee, I'm pregnant... About twelve weeks along now." Sakura took a deep breath and kept going before Lee could interrupt her. "The father isn't around right now. It wasn't something we had planned on doing since our relationship has been a secret for so long. Only a few people even know that we're together. Naruto and I ran into Kiba today, and it made me realize that in this world it's so easy for people to catch my condition with the special ninjutsu and kekkei genkai. I don't know why I did it, but I blanked when Kiba asked me who the father is..."

She slowly looked up and locked eyes with Lee. He looked like he was trying to process everything that she was saying to him.

"I see..." Was all he said after a few moments. "What can I do to help you and your child, Sakura? I don't have to know about the father because you are one of my most precious friends. I'll do anything. All you have to do is ask."

"Lee, this is a lot that I'm asking for..." Sakura felt her voice crack. Damn it, she couldn't let herself cry now. "But I accidentally told Kiba that you're the father."

Lee blinked for a few moments then pointed to himself. "M-me?"

Sakura slowly nodded. "I'm sorry. You were just the first person that came to mind. I can't let anyone know who the real father is right now."

Lee suddenly stood up, causing Sakura to jump in surprise. She was expecting him to run out of the building, but instead, he stood in front of her with the most determined look she had ever seen in his eyes.

"Sakura, I promise that I will do everything in my power to fill in where I can! If that means being a father to your child, then I shall do it!"

"L-Lee! You're being loud." Sakura put her finger to her lips and motioned for him to sit before more people started staring.

"Oh. Sorry about that." He laughed and took his seat again. "So... Where do you want me to start with my fatherly duties?"

Sakura rubbed the back of her neck, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. She hadn't really thought this whole thing through. She just needed Lee to agree, and she wasn't 100% positive he was even going to say yes in the first place.

"W-well, I guess I should introduce you to my parents. That would be a good place to start. I mean, they already know that I'm pregnant."

"You mean, even your parents don't know who your child's father is?" Lee looked surprised.

"Yeah... Like I said... I think the only people that really have a good clue is Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke, Naruto, and Lady Tsunade. We've kept our circle pretty closed off." Sakura effortlessly added Sasuke's name in, trying to keep Lee from jumping to that conclusion. Of course, there was also Itachi, but no one in Sakura's age group was very familiar with the older Uchiha brother.

"Everyone will really think I'm the father then." Lee looked away, almost shyly. His cheeks were tinged with a little bit of pink.

"Yeah." Sakura nodded. "And we should probably start meeting with each other regularly to trick people into thinking we're in an actual relationship."

Sakura felt horrible for stringing Lee along like this, but she knew that no one else besides Naruto would willingly do this.

"In return, Lee... I'll do anything that you want." Sakura swallowed back tears. "You really have no clue how much this means to me."

"It's not a problem!" Lee cheerily exclaimed. "Even if our relationship is going to be fake, I'm doing this because I care for you Sakura."

The dams broke at his words. Sakura couldn't take it anymore, so she just started sobbing into her hands.

"S-Sakura?" Lee quickly moved around the table, hesitantly trying to figure out how he could comfort her. The pinkette lunged into him and held on to him tightly as she cried.

Yes. Her friends were definitely the best, and she didn't deserve the love any of them had to offer.

Yet if they knew how she felt, she knew that they would all come up with a reason to say so otherwise.

* * *

 **FRIENDSHIP HELL YEAH.**

 **In all sincerity, though, I don't want Sakura to seem like this person that's going to be using Lee until Sasuke comes home. I'm thinking of ways she can pay him back. She keeps getting tangled in these messes, which I think makes for a good plot. ;)**

 **And poor Sasuke. Just. Yeah. Poor Sasuke.**

 **Anyways! Thanks for the reviews and all of the love this story is getting. I have the pregnancy chapters sort of mapped out, so we'll see how regularly I'll post.**

 **~Ryn**


	9. Chapter 9

"One Year" Chapter 9

 _I'm shaking at the anticipation of knowing if you two will be boys or girls. The sonogram says you're identical. I couldn't even imagine if I had someone in this world with the same face as me. You two are so loved and also lucky to have each other. Never forget that fact._

 _I feel like a blimp at sixteen weeks, so I can only imagine what is to come as you grow bigger than an avocado. That's how big you two are right now, did you know that?_

 _Just keep growing strong together._

 _~Mom_

* * *

"UGH!" Sakura groaned as she laid flat on her bed and was failing miserably with the task of buckling her skirt. "I just bought this! Are you kidding me?!"

She let out a frustrated breath. Nothing fit her anymore.

The pinkette gave up and threw the skirt into the far corner of the room where a pile of other clothes that no longer fit was. If Sasuke were there she was sure he'd make some smart-ass remark on how she should just give up and wear the same kind of dresses other pregnant women wore around the village.

That was the last thing she wanted to do. As silly as it sounded when she thought about it, she would rather wear her usual skirt in a bigger size than a dress that looked like a bed sheet.

Normally if she didn't have things to do, she would definitely stay in her pajamas all day. Today, however, was a really important day. She was going to be going to the Uchiha compound to tell Fugaku that the transfer was a success. Itachi and Rikka already knew, but Itachi insisted that the news should be announced by Sakura to get further into his father's good graces.

Sakura hadn't been before the Uchiha patriarch since he had granted her to do what she could for his son and daughter-in-law. She definitely wasn't looking forward to it, especially now that she was showing from her own pregnancy. She was sure that Mikoto would ask her about it to make some sort of small talk. Most women that Sakura encountered nowadays always did.

This was her true challenge ahead: Acting totally normal in front of the older couple so that they didn't suspect a thing.

She finally settled on a plain dark red dress with her family's symbol between the shoulders. It still hugged on to her abdomen, which she would just have to live with at this point. It wasn't like she could suck it in.

When she exited her room, she jumped back in surprise. Naruto was standing in her living room looking at the pictures on her wall.

"HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF KNOCKING?!" She yelled, grabbing him by the ear and yanking it as hard as she could. "You almost gave me a damn heart attack!"

"YOU?!" Naruto screamed in response. "I'm the one you just attacked out of nowhere! How do you think I feel?! You said to let myself in when I got here!"

"Oh... Right..." Sakura let go of Naruto's ear and looked away in embarrassment. She tended to forget the small details lately. Her mother insisted it was pregnancy brain. "Sorry."

"Eh, it's no big deal," Naruto said, rubbing his ear. "So, you're meeting his parents again today, right? That's why you wanted me to come, isn't it?"

"Yeah." Sakura nodded. "Normally, Itachi would come and get me but he's away on a mission again. I just didn't want to face them on my own, you know?"

Naruto gave her his usual huge grin. "Ah, cheer up Sakura! One of these days, you'll be treated like family when you go to the compound. Sure, Fugaku has a stick up his ass, but Auntie Mikoto is super nice and welcoming when you get to know her."

"That's easy for you to say, Naruto. You and Sasuke have always been best friends. I'm just some girl that they know who occasionally goes on missions with their son and happens to be a doctor trained under Lady Tsunade." Sakura sighed. "And I'm now going to be the pregnant girl that settled for some mediocre ninja from the village. It's no offense to Lee, really, but you've met with Fugaku. You know that's what he thinks of any ninja that isn't an Uchiha."

"Yeah... You've got a point there." Naruto admitted, scratching the back of his head. He suddenly felt awkward remembering that only a few of them knew that the babies were really Sasuke's and not Rock Lee's. It seemed like everyone had been told the lie at this point. Naruto really hoped that he wouldn't screw this up for the two of them. He had always been bad at keeping secrets.

This one, though... It was totally different. It was to protect Sakura and her babies until Sasuke came home and put his foot down on where to proceed from here. In the end, it really did come down to what he wished to do.

* * *

"How do you wish to proceed?" Sasuke heard Kuru's voice over the radio in his ear.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the target from the tree he was perched in. This was one of the final tests they were being tasked with as a team: Take turns as leader and the best person in the team to approach the target with little to no detection would go on back to the ANBU Headquarters to prepare for their last test of leading a team of operatives on an official mission.

"Stand down," Sasuke ordered.

"WHAT?!" Karin screamed over the radio. "Suigetsu is like _right there!_ He can totally use a water prison jutsu or something."

Sasuke flinched out of annoyance. "That's my order. Stand down for now."

"Then that should do for today," Kuru spoke. "Let's meet up at the campsite and talk over the events of the day."

Later that afternoon when they all finally made it back to the site, the team sat down to eat lunch together.

"So, are we going to keep on pretending that we missed a great opportunity to grab him?" Karin huffed as she took a bite of her instant ramen.

"I'm actually quite impressed with Sen." Kuru chuckled, which earned confused expressions from three of the four cadets around him. "So, enlighten us. Why did you give the command to stand down."

Sasuke slurped his noodles, staying as expressionless as ever. Once he swallowed, he stood up and brushed himself off. "He made eye contact with Suigetsu."

"Wait... Did you see that? Are you sure?!" Karin put her hands on her hips. "There's no way you could have saw that at the distance you were!"

Sasuke looked over his shoulder, Sharingan activated. "These eyes see every little movement and memorize every little detail. I'm positive."

Karin shook where she stood. He looked so hot at that moment. She did all she could to keep a firm face.

"Impressive." Suigetsu smirked. "I didn't even realize that he saw me. I thought it was just a little glance."

"You need to be more aware next time," Sasuke said, rolling his eyes and turning his full attention to his teammates. "I'm not going to have you ruining this for any of us."

"Now, now Sen," Kuru said after letting out a loud belch and putting his container away. "No need to be so harsh. You have to realize that not all of the people you work within the Ops have the Kekkei Genkai you do. You have had a sensei with the Sharingan and your family is very talented so I'm sure you've trained with some of the top elite of your clan, so I understand it's easy to forget. But out here, we all come together to complete the mission. You made a good call to stand down because I guarantee that the target would have marked that as a highly obvious capture method."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "How do you know my sensei?"

Kuru chuckled. "Well, did you expect your leader to not read your file? I know who you are, _Sen_." The older man gave a smirk, causing a shiver to run down Sasuke's spine.

Kuru knew who he really was. He knew that Sasuke wasn't just some random Uchiha.

"Hmph." Sasuke turned away from the group. "We'll try again tonight. Try and rest as much as you can. This time, I'm going in for the capture."

* * *

"So, are we just going to stand here all day?" Naruto asked. He and Sakura had been standing outside of the main Uchiha home for almost ten minutes before he decided to finally say something.

Sakura swallowed hard and gave a firm nod. She needed to build up her confidence before approaching the door.

The two ninja walked up to the front door. Sakura gave a couple of firm knocks.

After a few moments, Mikoto came to the door. She looked up, surprised to see the two before her, but then gave a nice smile to them. "Naruto, Sakura, what a pleasant surprise."

"Hello, Auntie Mikoto." Naruto beamed back. "We came to visit for a while. Sakura said she wanted to talk with you and Fugaku."

"Come in then!" The Uchiha matriarch seemed overjoyed. "We were about to sit down and have some tea anyway. This is perfect timing."

Sakura smiled and nodded. "That's great. Thank you for having us."

When they went into the sitting room, Fugaku and Rikka were already in the room. Fugaku was reading a book while Rikka was preparing the table for tea.

"Oh, Doctor Haruno." Rikka looked up and beamed at the pinkette. "I didn't know you were coming by today."

"Hello." Sakura gave a bow to the clan leader when he glanced up from his book, then bowed to Rikka. "Sorry for coming on short notice."

"Don't worry!" Mikoto reassured Sakura as she came in from the kitchen with a tray of tea and rice balls. "You're welcome on the compound anytime. Both of you."

Fugaku grunted in response and continued to read his book. At least he seemed to be in a better mood than usual.

Mikoto shook her head and rolled her eyes at her husband.

"Papa," Rikka spoke to Fugaku to get his attention again. "I think Doctor Haruno came by today to talk with us about something important."

Sakura and Rikka met eyes, causing them both to let out a smile. It was like she was trying to hold in an obvious secret that only a small child would try to keep from their parents.

Fugaku sighed and put down his book and took his glasses off. He then looked up to Sakura and Naruto and gestured for them to sit across from him.

"So what is so important that you came all the way from the inner parts of the village to the compound?" He finally asked after a few awkward moments of silence as they all sipped on their tea.

"I actually came because I wanted to tell you some very great and exciting news about Rikka's procedure a couple of months ago. It seems that it was a great success, and you should be welcoming your first grandchild, or possibly even grandchildren, within the next seven months or so."

 _Or, you know... Six, maybe five?_ She inwardly spoke.

Mikoto clapped her hands together in joy. "That's wonderful!"

"Ah." Fugaku held back a small smirk, trying to stay as stoic as possible. "That is good news."

"We've already set up an ultrasound appointment." Rikka chattered on. "I'm so thrilled."

"So, you have known?" Mikoto asked.

Rikka nodded and grinned. "Itachi and I have known for a few days now. He wanted to be here when Doctor Haruno came over, but he got called out on an important mission before she could make time to come over."

"Oh? And I see that congratulations are in order for you as well then." Mikoto smiled over at the pinkette.

Sakura forced a smile and nodded. "I'm about a month further along than Miss Rikka."

"Yeah, it's too bad Sasuke didn't know about it before he left," Naruto spoke up with his mouth full. "I mean, he _is_ a part of Team Seven and all."

Sakura elbowed him in the stomach, causing the blonde to slightly choke.

"It is a shame, but what matters is that the father and I are _extremely happy._ " She said through gritted teeth, trying to force a smile.

"Oh, are you and Naruto-"

"No, no!" Sakura put her hands up in defense before Rikka could finish her question. "A lot of people have asked that, but my... _boyfriend_... is a taijutsu specialist from a year ahead of our graduating class." The pinkette was doing all she could to force a smile, trying to seem like she was so proud of her situation.

"Well, congratulations nonetheless." Mikoto grinned. "It seems that my grandchild will have a friend to play with as they grow up."

"Yes... I'm sure they will be great friends." Sakura smiled.

Closer than just in age.


	10. Chapter 10

"One Year" Chapter 10

 _I felt you this morning! It was the slightest little quiver, but then a more firm hit had me realizing that my boys are growing so well!_

 _My heart is full of love for you two. I can't help but think about the hair that is growing on your heads and the thought of your senses developing right now... Twenty weeks..._

 _Keep growing my loves. We're over halfway there._

 _~Mom_

* * *

"So, boys huh?" Sakura's mother was sitting across from her daughter at her kitchen table. Her daughter had come over to talk with her and had let the gender slip. She was meaning to keep it a secret until they had made their arrival, but Sakura found herself unable to keep it in for much longer.

Sakura was glowing with happiness. Ever since she had felt them move when she had eaten breakfast, she knew that she had to tell someone about how _giddy_ she felt. It was like meeting a first love for the first time.

"So, when am I going to get to meet this infamous Rock Lee?" Her mother asked after she took a long sip of her tea, bringing Sakura back down to earth.

"Oh... Right..." She rubbed the back of her neck and took a sudden interest in the water sitting in front of her. "He's actually away with his sensei on what he calls a 'Journey of Youth' before I have the babies."

"Oh?" Mebuki didn't look amused by this news. "So is this why he hasn't been around?"

"Well, Guy-Sensei is very impulsive. When he found out that Lee was going to be a father, he said something about having to learn to be reborn again and made him pack a bag and just got out of the village. He never said when they would be back." Sakura slumped down. The whole point of telling people that Lee was the father was to make public appearances together to shake the attention completely from Sasuke. Oh, what a fail that had been.

Ino said that she had started to hear different rumors around the hospital, which Sakura had to call a full staff meeting to shut down. Even then, that didn't stop them completely. There were still the old wives around the village that would talk about Lady Fifth's apprentice and her scandalous life resulting in pregnancy out of wedlock.

Mebuki sighed and took another long sip of tea before speaking again. "You know, Sakura... You've always been a good liar when it comes to your romantic relationship. Even I know that this person, whoever he may be, isn't the one you're telling me about."

Sakura sat straight up in her seat, looking at her mom wide-eyed. "W-wait. No mom, you have it all-"

Mebuki put her hand up to cut her daughter off. "Sakura, I'm sure you have a good reason for keeping it a secret. Just as long as he's not a ninja that has betrayed the village or something like that, I'm not going to pry. You will tell me when you're ready."

Sakura hung her head. "I really thought you believed me."

Her shoulders began to shake as she thought of other people around the village that knew without a shadow of a doubt that Rock Lee had never been Sakura's type. All of the people that _knew_ that there was no way at all that he could father her children.

No matter how much she insisted, she knew that there were still those people out there that knew Sakura was lying.

She covered her face with her hands and began to sob, causing Mebuki to come around the table and go to her daughter's side. She embraced her and stroked her hand through her hair, trying to comfort her as she let her built up feelings out.

After a while, the two women were sitting on Mebuki's couch. Sakura had her head laid on her mother's lap, still trying to compose herself.

She realized she hadn't been like this since the time Sasuke was critically hurt in the Chunin Exams. She couldn't speak or even tell her mother what was wrong with her. She just let her cry it out until she couldn't cry anymore.

 _"Sakura, I don't understand what's wrong. You and your team passed the exams. Isn't that a good thing?"_

 _Sakura had only just arrived home after watching the final round between Sasuke and Gaara. Sasuke barely won, but he was being rushed to the hospital after receiving multiple fractures, one of which was a rib that punctured one of his lungs._

 _The medics were shouting out his conditions between one another as they took him away. Sakura, being a medic in training, was hysterical at the thought of losing him. He looked worse than the time he fought Haku, which made her even more worried._

 _It took her the whole night to cease her tears. It wasn't until Kakashi-Sensei came to her house to tell her that Sasuke was going to be okay that Sakura was able to breathe easy again._

 _"You really care for your teammate, don't you?" Her mother asked as she was stroking her daughter's hair while Sakura had her head laid on her lap._

 _"I care about both of them, but Naruto heals a lot faster than Sasuke does." She sniffed. "They were talking about how he was going into shock and his blood pressure was falling while they were on the field with him today. I was so scared he was going to die."_

 _"Oh, Sakura." Mebuki chuckled. "What am I going to do with you? I let you train under Lady Fifth because you have always had the aptitude to be a medic. But now that you're getting more and more versed, it seems like knowledge is a double-edged sword."_

 _"That's the point, mom." Sakura sighed and sat up. "The moment I feel that sword coming towards me is when I'm supposed to take action. But out there, I couldn't. I had no clue what I could do to even begin to help him. Next time, I'm not going to let that happen. I refuse to stand back and watch. You'll see. I'll be one of the best medical ninjas Konoha has seen."_

 _"That's my girl." Mebuki smiled as she patted Sakura on her knee. "Now, go to your room and rest. You'll want to be there when he wakes up in the morning, won't you?"_

 _"Oh, right!" She got up fast and started to run to her room, then stopped and turned back around and embraced her mother. "Thanks, mom. He just means so much to me, I was so scared."_

"You know, at least he's not laying in the hospital this time." Mebuki finally broke the silence. It seemed that she and Sakura were thinking about the same thing at that moment.

"Huh?"

"I mean, you did mention something about Sasuke leaving for a year to take the ANBU Qualifications a few months ago. I didn't think about it until now, but you have always been so erratic when it comes to him. The time that you came home from that first mission to the Land of Waves and you couldn't sleep for a week because you kept on having nightmares of him dying within your reach. The time that he was taken to the hospital after the Chunin Exams. And even now. He's not here and yet you have to hold it together because if Lord Uchiha knew then it would be over for you two."

Sakura's heart sank. Her mother pieced it together after all.

"Like I said before, I know you have a good reason for keeping it a secret, but I am your mother Sakura. I know more about you than you realize. I raised you, so of course, I have paid attention to what goes on in your life."

"Mom, you can't tell anyone." Sakura strained to let out a whisper as she looked up into her mother's eyes. Mebuki could tell just how scared her daughter was. "If Lord Uchiha finds out, he will do all he can to either take my babies from me or even exile Sasuke from the clan. His family is too important to him to let that happen."

"So what does he want to happen?"

Sakura swallowed hard. "He doesn't know I'm pregnant."

* * *

Sasuke gagged.

They had been staying in one of the Rain Village's inns since the thunder season started.

Unfortunately for him, the rest of his team had gone out to have dinner while he opted to stay behind to tend to his equipment and take inventory of what he may need to proceed with Suigetsu as the leader when they started their mission all over again in the morning.

That meant he was the only one staying in the single room of the inn they had come across when the inn keeper's wife _decided_ to go into labor.

"Quit gawking and help me with the towels!" The man, only a few years his senior, yelled to Sasuke.

Sasuke swallowed back whatever was trying to come up and shook his head. "Shouldn't we get her to the village hospital or something?"

"We don't have one, and it's too late for that." The man rolled his eyes and shoved clean towels into Sasuke's arms.

"Honey, the water is cold again." His wife croaked out between contractions.

"The stove is out of wood, I can't heat it up again."

"What do you mean it's out of wood?!"

Sasuke laid the towels at the foot of the bed the woman was on and knelt down to the bottom of the small basin. He used a small fireball to cause the water to rise to a boil again.

"I knew it would pay off to let you ninja stay here." The man smirked. "Thanks."

It was in that moment, the woman let out an ear-piercing scream. "I think I can feel the head coming out!"

Sasuke and the man looked at each other with wide eyes. They were in no way prepared for the actual birth.

"We've got all of the supplies, what do we do now?" The man asked.

"HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW?!"

Sasuke racked his brain. He remembered that there was one time that Sakura had to study on something just like this.

 _"I don't care what anyone says, watching someone give birth is not a beautiful thing." Sakura huffed as she sat down with him for lunch after a busy day at the hospital. She had just started interning and the person in charge wanted Sakura to help out with L &D._

 _Sasuke chuckled and handed her a rice ball. "It can't be that bad."_

Oh, Sasuke, if only you knew at the time that indeed it _is_ that bad.

 _"You wouldn't last an hour dealing with what I've had to deal with this week." Sakura rolled her eyes._

 _"Is that so?" Sasuke smirked._

 _"I know for a fact. All of the men that I've come across today have had to either sit down or leave the room when the women are giving birth. The only one I saw keeping a cool head today was the doctor on call."_

 _"Hmph." Sasuke took a bite of his food. "Walk me through it then."_

 _"Well, first off, she could be in labor for up to 48 hours." Sakura began explaining to process, causing Sasuke to regret eating lunch with his girlfriend._

 _"So once the head starts crowning, which is when you can actually see the top of it coming out, we have to urge the mother to push with her contractions. But it's not just as simple as getting her to push and get the baby out, we have to be careful of tearing and such to keep the mother as comfortable as possible after delivery."_

 _"Tearing?"_

 _Sakura giggled and patted Sasuke's head. "Oh, Sasuke. It's so cute when you have no clue what I'm going on about."_

 _"Wait a minute. They actually tear down there?"_

 _Sakura laughed at his reaction when he finally realized what she was talking about. "Well, they can only stretch so much."_

 _"That's it, I'm done talking about this." He said, starting to put his food away, which had Sakura laughing._

 _"Come on, you haven't even gotten to the best part of it."_

 _"I can wait."_

 _Sakura looked up at him amused. "My point is that giving birth sucks. Sometimes I just have to let my patient do what comes naturally to her."_

"You have to push with your contractions, but be careful when you start to feel a burning sensation because the more you strain, the more you will tear." Sasuke finally spoke, looking away from the couple out of embarrassment.

"Are you a medic or something?" The innkeeper asked.

"My girlfriend back home is. She made me help her study a lot."

"Then don't just stand there!" The woman yelled at him. "HELP ME!"

"I-I'm not trained for this." Sasuke tried to remain as unshaken as possible, but then he heard Sakura's voice in the back of his mind.

 _"You wouldn't last an hour dealing with what I've had to deal with this week."_

It was like a challenge being given to him, and Sasuke Uchiha was never one to back down from a challenge.

"Tch. Fine." He glared down at the woman's stomach. What a pain this had turned out to be.

After what seemed like forever, which was actually a little shy of an hour, Sasuke had successfully helped the couple deliver their baby girl. He sat down hard on the floor once the placenta had come out and the baby's cord had been cut.

"Thank you so much." The woman cried as she and her husband worked to clean and wrap the baby.

Sasuke just looked up at the two, completely stoic and unamused. This was completely opposite of what he had wanted to do that night. At the same time, though, he felt a bubble of pride rise up in his chest once he saw the child. _He_ helped bring that into the world.

"I wasn't prepared for a girl. I could have sworn this whole time you were a boy." The man spoke down to his daughter. "We don't even have a name for you."

His wife turned to look at Sasuke who stood to leave the room. "You said your girlfriend is a doctor, right? What is her name?"

"Sakura." Sasuke simply answered and left the room.

It was the next morning when the couple announced that they would name her Sakura after the person who taught the man that delivered their child.

* * *

"Itachi and I have been thinking about names." Rikka animatedly told Sakura as she ran the ultrasound across the young woman's abdomen. It turned out that only one egg had taken so they were only having one baby.

"Oh?" Sakura giggled. "That is one of the best parts, isn't it?"

"Have you decided on names yet? You're having twins aren't you?"

Sakura tucked some hair behind her ear after she took off her gloves and put the wand of the machine away.

"Their father isn't here, so it's really hard to think of some names that he would be proud of calling them."

"I understand what you mean." Rikka laughed as she cleaned herself off and put her shirt down. "Anything that I suggest, Itachi just wrinkles his nose at."

"Men." Sakura laughed. "And they say we're the picky ones."

Sakura and Rikka had grown close over the course of their pregnancies. So much that Sakura found herself always at the compound to check on the woman any time that she was free.

Today was an ultrasound appointment though, and as usual, Itachi was out on a mission. He insisted that he was taking as much work as he could so he could take time off to be there when Rikka gave birth.

"You never really talk about their father a whole lot," Rikka said as she took the pictures Sakura had taken from the machine.

"He's..." Sakura paused, trying to think of a way she could describe Lee. "Flamboyant?" That was the only word that she could think of at that moment. "In all honesty, he's always all over the place and I can barely keep up half the time."

"It's so strange." The Uchiha giggled. "I've only ever seen you around Sasuke and Naruto before we actually officially met. Naruto is pretty loud, and to be honest I could see some chemistry there. I wasn't expecting anyone else."

Sakura laughed nervously. "To be honest, no one really was either. Love just happens when it happens, I guess."

"You're right." Rikka smiled, placing a hand on her growing abdomen. "Even though Itachi and I had our marriage arranged at a really young age, I was grateful that we were able to fall in love before we got married."

"The Uchiha boys really are something else, aren't they?" Sakura laughed.

"They really are." Rikka giggled. "To be honest, I'm kind of nervous to see what Sasuke does when he finds out who Papa has chosen to be his wife."

Sakura stiffened at her words. "Has he made his decision yet?"

"Not completely, but he's really been pouring over test scores and clan files the last few months since he left. I think he has three that he's going to present to him when he comes home."

"I see." Sakura frowned.

"Is something wrong?" Rikka asked.

"It's nothing. I just know Sasuke, and he's going to be extremely unhappy." Sakura truthfully answered.

"Maybe he will decide to give them time like he did for Itachi and me." Rikka smiled. "Then again... We were only sixteen when the announcement was made."

"Why did he wait so long to push the marriage arrangement then?" Sakura asked.

"Sasuke has always been good at avoiding Papa," Rikka explained. "He has always been able to sense when Papa was going to bring up the marriage talk, so he would disappear for days at a time claiming that he was on a mission or something. To be honest, I think he may have a girlfriend outside of the clan and is trying to keep her hidden."

Sakura swallowed hard. "Oh really? I wouldn't know anything about that. He's always been super secretive when it comes to his personal life."

"Or maybe he's gay."

Sakura's eyes widened as she turned to look at Rikka like she was ridiculous.

"I mean, Mama thinks so too. It makes sense when you think about it. He's never shown attraction to any kind of girl. You're the only one he's seen hanging around with."

Sakura laughed nervously. "You have a point."

"Anyway, Papa is having a party next month and Mama wanted me to invite you. We're officially announcing our pregnancy and the name we've chosen to give the baby. We would really love to have you there."

"Okay." Sakura nodded, still trying to wrap her head around Rikka's assumptions of Sasuke. "I'll be there."

"Great!" Rikka embraced Sakura. "Thank you for everything, doctor."

"Rikka, I keep telling you to call me Sakura."

Rikka smiled. "Thank you, Sakura."

* * *

 **Okay! Thank you, everyone, for keeping up with this story. I suddenly got out of my writer's block last night so my writing flow has come back for now. I'm hoping to at least get through the pregnancy this time before I lose it again. I hope I don't lose it again, but things happen. I've been sick the last couple of weeks, so I have needed to get out of bed and do something, and writing has always been a huge outlet for me when I'm not feeling well. This is a story I love because I genuinely go back to it at least once a month to think of scenarios that I can write out. The way chapters are going, they will all have a four-week separation in the story. So next chapter, Sakura will be 24 weeks along and so on and so forth. I'm sorry if the story progression seems slow, but I have to have a slow build up because I feel like that's how pregnancy normally goes.**

 **Thank you for all of the reviews, and I want to give out my congratulations Saba Shiekh on her baby girl that she had three months ago. She was excited because she was pregnant when I first started this story so she was kind of along with Sakura for her journey. Again, I'm so sorry I lost inspiration but moving to a new and big city kind of had me overwhelmed for a little bit.**

 **On another note, I'm going to be trying to go to cons and such soon! I'm doing my best to work on my cosplays, but I end up getting so self-conscious because I am overweight. I am working with a personal trainer on that, though, so I'm looking forward to getting to where I'm super body positive with myself. I even have a headshot of myself as Sakura on my Instagram if anyone would like to follow me on there RynUhara.**

 **Now that my shameful self-promotion is done, on to the next chapter!**

 **Thank you all for everything!**

 **Love,**

 **RynUhara.**


	11. Chapter 11 (Part One)

"One Year" Chapter 11

 _I can't imagine the sleep deprivation will be worse when you two finally get here. You're doing a good job of keeping me up at night already. Is it because you like to hear my voice when I groan out of irritation? Do I snore?_

 _I can't help but smile when I think that your hearing is developing right now. Twenty-four weeks have flown by and I'm sure that the ones to come will do the same._

 _Just do me a favor and don't grow too fast when you're here. Mama wants her babies to stay babies until Papa can be here, okay?_

 _~Mom_

* * *

Sakura sighed as she zipped up the cranberry-colored dress her mother had made her for the party at the Uchiha compound that night. Lee was supposed to be meeting her at the party, so they would finally be making their first public appearance together.

To say that Sakura was nervous would be an understatement. She was so scared he was either going to let it slip that he wasn't that father or that he was going to embarrass her. She didn't know if she could take either scenario.

Sakura turned to look at herself in the dress she was wearing. Very prominent circles under her emerald eyes stared back at her. Makeup was definitely calling her name. She wasn't about to arrive at the Uchiha compound looking like she hadn't slept in weeks, which she really hadn't.

Once she finished making herself look presentable, she left her apartment to meet up with Ino.

"I still can't believe that they thought to invite you. Isn't it mostly the Uchiha clan and the occasional outsider friend?"

"I apparently am the outsider friend in this case, Ino." Sakura sighed. They had decided to take a look around in the shops to try and find a good gift to give to Rikka and Itachi. What could they even get for a baby that would have everything handed to them on a silver platter?

Sakura sighed when she saw the price tag of an outfit she was tempted to buy. She may have been a doctor, but she had her own delivery and bills that she needed to think of. Especially with not having much help financially from her parents and zero help from the Uchiha clan because they had no clue that Rikka wasn't the only one expected to give birth in the next few months to new clan children.

"It must really suck having to watch them celebrate her and the baby." Ino frowned.

"You have no idea." Sakura tucked hair behind her ear. "It's torture not being able to talk about how I'm really feeling when Lady Uchiha asks me if I'm okay or if the babies' father is as excited as I am about them."

In all reality, she just wanted to scream and stomp her feet on the ground and say "No, I'm not okay at all! Sasuke's not home, and he has no clue what kind of hell I've had to go through these last few months! And because _your clan_ can't get out of their old-fashioned ways, my children may grow up without the things you can easily provide for them that Sasuke and I will spend the rest of our lives working _so hard_ to get for them!"

But Sakura was too nice to do that.

"Are you sure you want to go to the party tonight then?" Ino asked.

"I'm positive. I need to be as normal as possible around them." Sakura answered. She picked up a small toy and decided that this was what she was going to purchase.

"Thank you, come again." The shop clerk smiled and handed over the now-wrapped gift.

Sakura and Ino politely bowed to the cashier and left.

"So, are you still having a hard time with names?" Ino asked as the two women walked the streets. They had decided to make their way over to a local tea house before heading their separate ways.

"Yes." Sakura groaned. "It's like anything I think of, I can just hear him in my head saying 'Seriously? You named our kids _that?_ '."

Ino laughed. "That does sound like Sasuke."

"I think I'm going to probably end up deciding when they're finally here," Sakura admitted. "Mom says that once they're in my arms, I'll know without a doubt what their names will be. She said she did that when I was born."

"Well, gee." Ino giggled and lightly tugged on Sakura's hair. "I wonder where they got the name _Sakura_ from."

Sakura playfully swatted Ino's hand away and laughed.

When they got to the tea house, TenTen and Hinata were there placing their own orders. TenTen was going to be married into the Hyuga Clan soon, so it was becoming more and more common to see the two together.

"Hey, guys!" TenTen cheerfully greeted. "Why don't you two come sit with us? We're taking a break from wedding planning."

"Sure." Sakura smiled.

She and Ino placed their orders and joined the other two kunoichis at their table.

"Sakura, how have you been?" TenTen asked. "I haven't seen you since you and Lee met with our team a few months ago to announce your surprise pregnancy."

It was true. She had been avoiding as many people as she could the last few months. Especially Lee's teammates because she was sure that they would be the first to know that something was definitely up.

 _"So, what's so important that you had to call us all here on short notice?" Neji glared at Lee, his arms folded. He was definitely annoyed because he had been interrupted in training is own Genin team when Lee had begged him to come to their old training grounds._

 _"Yeah Lee, I've never seen you talk so fast before," TenTen said. She was also busy planning the grand opening of her ninja tools shop._

 _Guy on the other hand... Was sobbing with joy. Lee had obviously told him before gathering the rest of the team together._

 _Sakura felt awkward standing next to Lee. She had never really been around the full team in a casual manner before. It was even more awkward feeling Lee wrap his arm around her waist. More than awkward, really. More like wrong._

 _"Well, Sakura and I wanted to come together with you all and announce something very important." He said, a huge grin on his face. He was better at acting than Sakura had hoped._

 _"And that would be?" Neji narrowed his eyes at the pinkette, then focussed back to Lee._

 _"You see," Sakura began, giggling nervously. "Lee and I have been secretly dating for a while now, and I just found out recently that I am pregnant."_

 _"WHAT?!" TenTen gasped. "Lee! Why didn't you tell us that you two were dating?!"_

 _"Well, uh-" Lee was stumped. He looked to Sakura for an answer._

 _"We wanted to wait until we were more serious." Sakura quickly replied. "And this is pretty much as serious as we can get." She faked a laugh._

 _"Right..." Neji said, keeping his arms folded and his eyes focussed on Sakura. He obviously wasn't buying it._

 _"That's it! I can't take it anymore!" Guy exclaimed and embraced both Lee and Sakura into a huge embrace. "Lee, you and I have special training we must embark on!"_

 _"Special training?!" Lee looked like a child on Christmas when Guy said this._

 _"Yes. You must learn to be reborn so that you can help Sakura take care of your child when it is born!" Guy pumped his fist in the air. "A journey of youth is what we must take! I will let Kakashi and Lady Tsunade know and we will leave at sunrise tomorrow!"_

 _"Wait, what?" Sakura looked panicked at the energized sensei._

 _"Don't worry! I promise to have him back in a few months." Guy beamed, giving Sakura a thumbs up._

 _It was at that moment that Sakura realized that she made a horrible decision. It didn't help that Neji hadn't taken his suspecting stare off of her since they told the team their news._

 _It was completely evident that the Hyuga didn't buy it._

"I mean, I've been better." Sakura nervously laughed. She wondered if Neji still was suspicious of her and Lee's relationship. She also wondered if he had told TenTen any of his thoughts on the matter.

"How is wedding planning going?" Ino asked, getting the subject off of Sakura.

"It's such a pain!" TenTen groaned. "No offense, Hinata, but clan traditions are so frustrating."

 _Tell me about it._ Sakura inwardly agreed. Clan traditions are what got her where she was in the first place.

"I mean, we're not in the old times anymore!" TenTen continued. "I just don't see why I have to wear all of the restricting clothing and such when it's the wedding day."

"But it will be worth it when it's over with." Sakura encouraged.

"Yeah, yeah." TenTen sighed. "I know."

Sakura couldn't help but be jealous though. The Hyuga Clan was still allowing her in.

* * *

"Aww, let me in!" Karin's voice came as a whine outside of Sasuke's door. They were in a new inn now, this time with separate rooms.

Sasuke felt his eye twitch. He was trying to meditate before going out on the next capture test, which Karin was the next one to lead.

She, of course, wanted to stage as a couple with Sasuke, but he blatantly refused and told her how idiotic the idea was because if it failed then the target would know what the two of them looked like behind their masks. The other two times they had caught him, he commended the three ninjas on keeping their identities hidden well and Sasuke wasn't about to ruin that streak for Karin's fantasy date that she was so hung up on having.

"It will catch him completely off guard, Sen!" The redhead whined from outside his door.

"Then proceed with Suigetstu or Juugo." He flatly told her when he finally opened his door. Which was a horrible mistake because she threw herself at him.

"I don't have as great chemistry with them. You know that~"

Sasuke pushed her off. "I'm starting to think you don't have any good chemistry with anyone."

Karin frowned. "Oh, Sen. Don't say that."

"Look, I think you need to rethink your plan or you will definitely be the first one they cut out of the running." Sasuke honestly told her. "You would be risking not only yours but my safety as well if this were a real mission. Don't you at least see that? As a leader, you need to put your teammates first."

The kunoichi hung her head and looked down at her feet with a sigh. "I guess you're right."

Sasuke felt almost felt bad for her. _Almost_. Until he pictured Sakura's angry glare when he came home and she found out he let Karin go on with false hopes of romanticism.

"I don't like you, Karin." Sasuke flatly stated. "I have too much waiting for me when I get back home, and let's be honest, you're not my type. Just focus on the mission in front of you so we can move on to Juugo's turn."

Karin felt a pang in her heart at his words. "O-okay." She pushed her glasses up her nose and stood straight as if everything were fine. "I'll go and remap my strategy then. It will be even better than what you and Suigetsu did."

"It's all I ask," Sasuke said, guiding her out of his room and shutting the door.

Sasuke sighed and stretched his arms over his shoulders. He couldn't help but think about what Sakura would do if someone pushed themselves on her like Karin had been doing him.

Would she do the same as he did just now?

 _Probably not._ Sasuke chuckled and smirked to himself. Knowing Sakura, she would beat the living hell out of anyone trying to get remotely close to her romantically because they weren't him.

* * *

Lee wrapped his arm around Sakura's waist as he walked beside her into the event hall of the Uchiha compound.

Sakura was super nervous. She clutched her gift to the baby in her hand as she watched everyone else pass by her with the uchiwa fan proudly worn on their backs.

She was definitely an outsider in the sea of Uchihas around her and Lee.

"Sakura!" Rikka called out the pinkette's name and waved her over to where she was standing with Itachi.

Sakura and Lee gave the couple a polite bow before Sakura presented their gift when they made their way over to them.

"Thank you for inviting us, Lord Itachi." Lee beamed.

Itachi scowled as he briefly judged him, then looked at Sakura. "May I speak with you for a moment?"

Sakura's shoulder's stiffened. She could tell that it was really important, so she excused herself and followed Itachi while the two left Rikka and Lee behind.

They went outside to the dock of the Uchiha lake. Sakura couldn't bring herself to look at Itachi because she knew what he was probably about to talk to her about.

"You have to be kidding me." Itachi had his arms folded as he looked down at the pinkette. It was like he was scolding a small child. "Of all of the things you could have told everyone, you said _he_ is their father?"

"I wasn't thinking." Sakura truthfully answered.

"You two aren't even remotely compatible romantically. I could tell that you obviously weren't comfortable with him holding you like he was." Itachi huffed. "Sakura, you do realize that Sasuke will murder him if he hears the rumor before you see him right?"

Sakura gulped. She hadn't even thought of that. She could see someone like Sai or Kiba slip up and say something to Sasuke if he was walking the streets to find her. The rampage he would be on frightened her more than the thought of Fugaku learning the true lineage of her boys.

"Then what am I supposed to do, Itachi? I panicked. I just don't want anyone knowing that Sasuke is-"

Itachi put his hand up to cut her off. "That's why you should have come to me first. I had been working on a scenario for you before you had told anyone about the father. I think it still may work, but you need to hear me out on this."

Sakura looked up to Itachi, hopeful. "You can get me out of the lie about dating Lee?"

The older Uchiha sighed. "Well, it involves another lie, and it has to work in order for my father to really believe it. That's why I invited him to follow us."

He pointed to someone Sakura hadn't even realized was nearby. He was patiently waiting with his arms folded across his chest. He was wearing nice clothes to match with the evening's events. Sakura gulped when she noticed the uchiwa fan decorating the edge of his collar.

"You must be Sakura." He said as he casually made his way over to the two. "My name is Shisui, and Itachi here tells me that you've gotten yourself into a bit of a situation."

* * *

 **Okay, this was getting a bit too long so I'm having to cut chapter 11 into two parts. I thought this was a great place to end because I'm about to fill part two with all sorts of baby daddy drama. All staged to be public by Itachi, of course, because he's obviously the only one that doesn't have pregnancy brain which allows him to come up with a better situation for Sakura.**

 **Thank you for all of the love and support!**

 **~RynUhara**


	12. Chapter 11 (Part Two)

"Started Without You" Chapter 11 (Part 2)

It seems that your mother and father have gotten themselves in a huge mess. Not only have I and your father been gone, but Shisui as well which has given us a great opportunity. He is your Uncle's best friend, so of course, he knew about the little secrets we have been keeping from your grandfather and grandmother. He always keeps Uncle's special secrets to himself. You two were one of them at one time.

As confusing as the beginnings of your little lives may be, just know that you have a family that cares for you. That wants you. I promised to take care of your father, and I will do anything to fulfill that promise. I'm pretty sure that the night that comes to mind was necessary for getting your mother the access to what our clan has to offer. I couldn't stand to watch her struggle.

Your mother is still so strong, though. Even strong people struggle sometimes. Don't forget it. Be grateful.

\- Uncle Itachi

/

Sakura felt awkward being led back into the hall by Shisui. After a few brief moments of getting to know each other and what the plan Itachi had in mind was, she decided to go along with it all.

She couldn't help but hear all of the whispers as they walked in.

"Shisui is back."

"Who is that with him?"

"Isn't that the doctor that takes care of Lady Rikka and Lord Itachi?"

"They seem really close."

"I thought the guy she came with was her date."

The pinkette swallowed hard when she saw Lee still socializing with Rikka. Mikoto and Fugaku had apparently made their way over to the two while Sakura and Itachi were outside.

Relax, Sakura. She took a deep breath and put a smile on her face. You can do this.

"Uncle, Auntie, you look well!" Shisui beamed up at the Uchiha Clan leaders when they finally made their way over to them. He then turned to Rikka and embraced her. "Rikka, you're glowing."

He then turned to Lee and bowed. "And you must be Rock Lee."

"Yes, I am." Lee bowed back in greeting.

"I am Shisui Uchiha. I thank you for looking after my Sakura while I was away."

Lee looked up to Sakura, confused.

"Lee, do you remember when I told you that my boyfriend was away for a while and I couldn't tell anyone about him?" Sakura asked. "This is him."

"Shisui, I wasn't aware that you were even seeing anyone!" Mikoto beamed and took Sakura's hands. "Oh, this is great Sakura!"

"You mean, you're not angry that I lied to you?"

"Of course not!" She smiled, then leaned to her ear where only Sakura could hear her. "Anyone who knows you can tell that Lee isn't your type."

So I've been told. Sakura nervously laughed.

Sakura turned and bowed to Lee apologetically.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but I didn't know he would be back from his mission in time for the party tonight. I couldn't let anyone know because the mission that he was on was high-risk and if anyone found out that he was going to be a father, they could have used that information against him and also come after me."

Lee gave her a pained smile. "It's okay, I understand. It was a privilege to help you out."

"I'm sorry that you were put through all of this." Shisui also bowed to Lee with Sakura at his side.

Then the two turned to the Uchiha Leaders again and bowed.

"Uncle, I would like to request that we do what we can to help my darling throughout the rest of her pregnancy."

Fugaku scoffed, which had Sakura panicked for a moment.

"Well, if her children have Uchiha blood then that is the only logical decision." He paused for a moment. "That is if you were to marry within a year after their birth."

Sakura looked up to Itachi, who had taken his place next to his wife. He had warned her that this was customary of their clan.

"Of course." Shisui smiled.

"Oh, Sakura!" Rikka giggled. "Then we have to tell everyone when Itachi and I make our announcement. I know this party is about us, but we are just so grateful for you and all you've done for us. You deserve to be welcomed properly into the Uchiha clan."

"A-are you sure?" Sakura asked.

"I think it's a great idea!" Mikoto agreed with her daughter-in-law. "And we can publicly thank Lee for keeping you and Shisui safe."

Sakura again turned to Lee and gave him an apologetic smile, which he awkwardly returned.

She hoped that he really did understand why she had to do this.

It was a couple of days after the party and Sakura's head felt like it was spinning with all of the lies she was having to keep track of.

She was sitting on her bed looking at a picture of her and Sasuke, wishing that she was face to face with him in person. "Oh, Sasuke... What am I going to do? Not only are your parents pushing you to get married soon, now they want me to marry Shisui because of the story your brother came up with."

She knew that Sasuke would have said something to his father by now if he were home. There was no way in hell he would ever stand to have Sakura marry another man to keep their children in good graces with the Uchiha family.

Sakura rested her hand where she felt one of the babies move. They deserved to have the best, that she understood, but she was starting to see that the best for them would be to have their real father be in their lives. Not Lee. Not Shisui. They needed Sasuke. Deep down she knew Itachi knew that too. But she had to trust him to keep this lie glued together. He had a plan to get her and Sasuke where they needed to be. Together.

"Oh, Sakura my darling~" Shisui called from the kitchen. "Breakfast is ready."

Shisui was a jokester throughout this whole thing. It had been a couple of days and Sakura had to get used to his ways. That's how he always referred to her, in public or not. It was hard to tell for other people when he was being sarcastic, but Sakura knew the whole time that he never meant it when he called her his darling.

Sakura sighed and put her picture back in her nightstand. She had agreed to let Shisui come over frequently to make it believable that he was really her lover. What she hadn't realized was that he was going to coddle her per Itachi's orders. Not that she really minded someone else cooking her meals for once, but sometimes she needed time to pout and talk to picture Sasuke.

The pinkette came waddling into the kitchen just as Shisui placed rice on to the table.

"So how was your night?" He asked, not looking up to her.

"Oh, you know..." Sakura sighed as she sat down. "Restless."

"You really miss Sasu-boy, huh?"

Sakura rolled her eyes and started to eat. Was he really asking that?

He turned around and smirked. "You want him to hold you at night and kiss you and-"

"Shisui!" Sakura snapped, causing a laugh to escape his lips.

"Sorry, sorry." He smirked. "I can't help it. It's just so hard to believe that little Sasuke is going to be a daddy. Let's just hope he comes back successful in his ANBU Assessment."

"He can come back whenever now." Sakura sighed. "Rikka is with child and everything is going great."

"No, you don't get it." Shisui sat down and looked Sakura right in the eyes. "Uncle will have it no other way if you two were to get married. He has to meet every single expectation now."

"Every single one?"

"Well, except the obvious," Shisui said, gesturing to Sakura's stomach. "He has to be the literal perfect son to suck up to Uncle and he will definitely know that the moment he lays eyes on your kids."

Sakura frowned. Sasuke wasn't going to be able to be there for the twins' birth. Would he know that they were his without having an explanation? Was she going to have to tell him about the twins before he came home? This was another thing she was going to have to figure out.

"Hey, don't worry. Sasuke is really good about getting the job done. That's why he's one of the favorites to lead missions, right?"

"Yeah." Sakura nodded. "You're right.

"Heh. Of course, I am my darling. Now eat up before the food gets cold."

Sasuke was annoyed.

No, scratch that, beyond annoyed.

He was pissed.

Suigetsu had decided to take a new approach to his plan to capture the subject.

Dancing.

But noooo, he couldn't use the one girl on their team.

He had to go and make the Uchiha dress up in a tight kimono with fake breasts to make him look "even more womanly".

"More womanly?" Sasuke scoffed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

If Naruto were there, he would be having a field day.

"Exactly what I said." Suigetsu snickered. "Come on, we all know that Karin wouldn't do this."

"Damn right I won't." Karin piped up.

"And what makes you think I will?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"You get the mission done, and since I'm the leader, you know you will have to follow my lead." Suigetsu smirked.

And Sasuke hated him more because he knew that he wasn't wrong.

But at least he wasn't the only one humiliating himself this evening. Suigetsu and Juugo were both dressed up as well... As Sasuke's background exotic dancers.

"Excuse us, sir." Suigetsu cleared his throat as they approached the target's table. "Would you mind a dance from the lovely Yuki and the Chikos?"

Sasuke hid his face behind his fan, watching the target's face carefully. Suigetsu was really bold approaching him immediately like this.

The man chuckled as he looked the trio up and down. "I've never heard of you three before. Where are you from?"

"You've never heard of them?!" Karin exclaimed from the table she and Kuru were sharing nearby. "Yuki is the most talented traveling dancer in the dancing community." She raved on like she knew what she was talking about. "You would be missing out if you turned them down."

"Why sure then!" The target beamed. "If you're as great as she says, I'll gladly watch a dance."

Sasuke and Suigetsu locked eyes and nodded. They began their routine that they had been practicing for the last two days, expertly matching the beat that Juugo was giving.

Soon, two sashes came from their arms and wrapped around the target and pulled him tight.

Before the target's bodyguards could jump to their feet, Karin and Kuru were behind them with Kunai to their necks.

"Success!" Suigetsu cheered as he saw the target's shocked face.

"Not bad, I must say." The man said as they let him go. "This was surely the most creative way your team has approached me yet." He looked Sasuke up and down again. "You look like your mother in that kimono."

Sasuke's eyes widened. How did he know his mother?

"Until next time, friends." The man formed a seal and he and his two bodyguards disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Sasuke knew that he had questions to ask the man the next time they met.


	13. Chapter 12

"One Year" Chapter 12

 _I'm noticing that the two of you already have a little bit of personality and you're not even here yet. When your Uncle Naruto is around and being noisy, I get some of the strongest kicks from my right side. According to what the sonogram says you're the slightly bigger one, and you really don't enjoy much commotion going on from the outside. It reminds me so much of your father._

 _I notice that your brother tends to stir more in the morning. He's like your father in that manner as well as being a morning person. I've never enjoyed waking up before the sun rises, but you apparently do. Just try and give Mama a little break once in a while, okay?_

 _It won't be long now._

 _~Mom_

* * *

Sakura sat on her bed, closing her diary she had been keeping since she found out she was pregnant. It was 4:30 AM and she was wide awake.

She sighed and looked over to the pallet on the floor that had been made for Shisui, who was sprawled out with his hand up his shirt as he slept.

Nothing ever caused him to wake up before it was time for him to go to the police station, where he was working when he didn't go on top secret missions.

Sakura was actually surprised at just how different he was compared to his cousins and the other family members she had come to know over time. He was more laid back and care-free, almost like Naruto. Yet, he was an Uchiha so he wasn't completely like Naruto.

Everyone always said that she was going to end up with Naruto because he was one of her closest friends, and Sasuke obviously was off-limits. Sakura clearly didn't care about that though.

She felt a kick from her left side and smiled to herself. She wasn't the only one awake right now at least. She had the twins to keep her some sort of company.

Sakura quietly got up and made her way to the kitchen to make an early breakfast. She decided that since Shisui had been doing so much for her, she could at least cook for him in return this morning.

About an hour later, Shisui had come out of the bedroom rubbing his eyes.

"Sakura? You okay?" He yawned. "It's 5:30."

"Oh, you're awake." She smiled from her spot at the stove. "Sorry if I was being too loud. I couldn't sleep and thought I would make us some breakfast."

"That's nice and all, but don't you think it's a little too early?"

Sakura tilted her head in confusion.

"Then again, it's never too early for a pregnant person to eat." Shisui sighed and pulled up a chair to the table. "Alright, alright. I guess I can be early today too."

Sakura beamed over to him. "Okay, it's almost ready."

A few moments later, Sakura placed the final bowl of rice on the table and sat across from Shisui.

"So, have you thought about what you're going to do when Sasuke comes back? Are you gonna get a new place?" Shisui asked as he took a bite of his food.

Sakura frowned. "Well, it depends on what happens when Lord Fugaku finds out the real truth about us." She answered truthfully. "From what I know about the clan, should they accept me, I will be brought into the compound to have all of the help I could imagine with the boys. If it doesn't work out, then Sasuke will either be exiled or forbidden to see me or the boys again.

One scenario is that Sasuke is still forced to marry someone else in the clan, while the boys and I are on our own. Another would be that Sasuke is to leave the clan and we would be allowed to live our own lives together. If that were the case, then we would look to find a new place most likely."

"You know that my uncle will not be happy either way. It's mostly Auntie that will have to convince him to let you stay."

"What do you think she will do?" Sakura looked to Shisui with a hopeful look on her face.

"I don't know." He shrugged. "Knowing Auntie, she would be thrilled that Sasuke is in love. She would also fall in love with the babies. But she also has a duty to uphold the rules of the clan. She also has a duty to be a good mother. It kind of depends on what is more important: The clan or Sasuke."

"I hope that being a mother is much more important than old fashioned clan traditions." Sakura sighed and took a bite of her food. "I mean, now that I'm a mother I couldn't imagine losing these babies. It has to be the same for her and her sons."

Shisui reached forward and patted Sakura's hand that was resting on the table. "Don't worry. We'll figure it out. If anything, we will all tell Auntie in secret."

"What difference would that make?" Sakura asked, puzzled.

"Well... If she doesn't like the idea of you and Sasuke being together and breaking clan rules... We could always still get married so that you would have access to what our clan has to offer for your kids."

Sakura started choking on her food. Once she got it all to go down she looked up at Shisui wide-eyed. "What?! Like married for real? I don't know if I could do that to Sasuke."

"Now hear me out. We don't have to do the normal things husbands and wives do. It would all be for show." Shisui explained. "I'd even let you stay with Sasuke in secret. It should work out, at least until Uncle makes Sasuke marry someone else. She might notice something was up and spill the beans on you and Sasuke."

Sakura felt a shadow come over her and hung her head. "So either way, we're doomed."

"Or... We would still get married." Shisui hesitantly spoke. "And you and Sasuke would have to stop being with each other."

" _That_ is not an option!" Sakura quickly stood and slammed her fists on the table, cracking it slightly.

Shisui looked up at Sakura. "I'm just brainstorming here, Sakura. Calm down."

Her eyes welled up with tears. "But how could you even suggest that I give up on me and Sasuke being together? All of this lying I've done up until now is to save what we have. I'm not a person who is known to lie, so do you realize how hard this has been for me?"

"Sakura, it'll work out," Shisui said, getting up and going around the table to her. "I promise. We will do all we can to keep you and Sasuke together."

"We have to, Shisui. He is the most important person in my life aside from these babies. I can't lose him."

* * *

It was evaluation day.

They were going to meet with the target and speak with him about the skills and faults each one of the team had.

Sasuke had to have this in the bag. Aside from Suigetsu, he was the only other one on their team that had made a successful capture.

They were back at the barracks, blank masks over their faces as they all waited patiently for Kuru to call them in.

"So... Who do you think is going to be the one going on to the next phase?" Karin asked, breaking the silence.

"Suigetsu or Sen." Juugo flatly spoke. "We failed at the capture missions."

Karin looked down at her lap. "You're right..."

Suigetsu chuckled. "Don't worry. There's always next year."

"Don't sound so confident." Karin snapped at Suigetsu. "Sen's capture was pretty brilliant too."

Sasuke swallowed hard. After the first attempt when Sasuke ordered them to stand down, he didn't know if the second attempt would work out.

It was a smooth capture, though, and that's all Sasuke could have ever hoped for. It wasn't flashy, it was simple and fast.

He waited for the one moment that the target was alone. He blended in with the crowd as he followed his target on the streets. It was brave of him to go in solo since he had no clue what this guy was capable of.

Once he reached the inn the target was staying in, he waited for him to go to the bathhouse and cornered him in there.

That was when the target announced that he had passed and had done well.

When they met the next time, the time that Suigetsu passed, it puzzled Sasuke. How did he know who his mother was? That's what was burning on his mind. This was the time to find out.

"Sen." Kuru came out and looked down to Sasuke.

"Sir!" He stood to attention.

"Come with me," Kuru ordered, motioning for Sasuke to follow.

Sasuke did as he was told and followed his leader to a room where the target and two masked ANBU were waiting.

"Congratulations." The target began once Kuru took his seat with the other two ops. "You have passed, Sasuke."

Sasuke swallowed hard. "How do you know who I am?"

"We know all about your facade." Kuru chuckled. "We even know about the things going on back home. It was pretty smart of you to delay your marriage by coming here."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Kuru.

"And the Haruno girl. Don't worry about her." His leader spoke.

Sasuke panicked inwardly. They knew about Sakura too.

"She's coming along nicely." Kuru finished his sentence.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"We shouldn't concern him with the things going on back in the village." The target looked over his shoulder at Kuru. "Right now, we must fill him in on the next and final phase of the exam."


	14. Chapter 13

"One Year" Chapter 13

 _Your Uncle Itachi and I are supposed to meet soon to talk names. It's getting more and more surreal as the days pass. You two really are coming soon._

 _Don't worry, I promise to choose strong names for you both. Your Papa would be so proud at your growth. I can only hope you can manage for a little while longer._

 _I'll see you very soon._

 _~Mom_

* * *

Sakura sat at her desk, rubbing her swollen stomach as she felt the twins kicking when there was a knock at her doorway.

She looked up to see Itachi who had brought her lunch, which she had forgotten all about.

"I was just writing about you." Sakura smiled up at him.

"Good things, I hope. My nephews must know how great I have been through all of this."

"Don't worry, I will make sure that they know their uncle Itachi is the real hero of their story." Sakura giggled.

"That's what I like to hear," Itachi smirked.

Sakura stood up and went to sit with Itachi on her office couch so that they could dig into their food.

"So, what brings you here besides making sure that I am well fed?"

"I was in the area," Itachi answered. "Rikka wanted me to come and pick up a copy of her last ultrasound to show my parents."

"Ah... I see." Sakura looked down. She was slightly jealous that she wasn't able to show off the growth of her children to Sasuke's parents like Rikka and Itachi were.

"I also wanted to talk to you about meeting with my mother."

Sakura's head snapped up at his words. "Wh-what? Already?"

"Well, the boys will be here soon, and not to mention that I will be preoccupied with my own child. We need to meet with her soon before Rikka goes into labor."

Itachi was right. He had his own little family that he had to worry over. Sakura was being so selfish in keeping Itachi occupied with her own problems.

"Sakura, I know you're scared, but you've met my mother. She won't do anything to harm you, Sasuke, or the twins."

"I know." Sakura sighed. "So when would we meet?"

"My father is actually on a mission right now and we are going to have dinner together tonight. With Rikka on bed rest right now, it would just be my mother and I. I've told her that I invited you and Shisui to join us."

Sakura swallowed hard. So tonight would be the night she actually would be able to tell the truth to Mikoto Uchiha.

There were so many "What ifs" going through her head.

What if the clan was more important than being a mother?

What if they disowned Sasuke after finding out the truth?

What if they took the twins from her?

Sakura swallowed back a lump in her throat at the last thought.

"Okay. I'll come."

* * *

 _"She's coming along nicely."_

Sasuke couldn't sleep and the last thing Kuru said to him before leaving him to the Black Ops kept running through his head.

Did they do something to Sakura?

"Tch." Sasuke clicked his tongue. He still had about four months left to go before he would be home to know exactly what Kuru was talking about.

Was it her career? A mission?

It drove him crazy that he wasn't able to know what he was talking about.

Maybe this was a tactic to throw him off while he was working on the faux mission.

Speaking of, he and his team of ANBU were to hunt down a shadow clone of a target and assassinate it as if it were a real person that they were going to take down.

Sasuke knew that these missions would be tough, but what made it tougher was that he was the leader on this "mission".

This time he had no clue about his team other than their abilities. They were all required to wear their masks at all times. They each ate separately, and even then it was mostly food pills given to them by their supply person before they left the barracks.

Sasuke couldn't wait for his mother's food because of the ways they were having to survive out in the field. No wonder Itachi was always spoiled when he got home from a mission. Now that Sasuke was in his shoes, he knew his brother deserved it.

He turned over in his sleeping bag and sighed. It was day 4 and still no lead on the target. Was it really going to take him a whole four months to complete this mission?

* * *

"Shisui! Sakura! I'm so glad you two could come. With my husband gone, it's been lonely. Thankfully Itachi has been coming by to keep me company. It's too bad Rikka couldn't join us, but I made enough to make sure that she gets dinner when Itachi goes home later." Mikoto said as she welcomed the two into her home. She was all over the place in her kitchen making sure that dinner was perfect for the four of them.

"Thank you for having us, Auntie." Shisui smiled.

"Can I help you with anything?" Sakura offered.

"No no!" Mikoto waved off Sakura. "You need to sit. Like Rikka I'm sure that you will give birth any time now, and you need your rest."

Sakura nodded to the woman and took her seat at the table next to Itachi who gave her a silent greeting.

Sakura was so nervous, she wasn't sure if she was going to be able to eat. There was no way that she was going to be able to keep the food down because of her nerves.

"So Sakura, Itachi says that you're still working at the hospital," Mikoto said as she put the final plate of food on the table. "You know that the clan can help you with money should you need it right? You don't need to work yourself ragged right before you have the babies."

"Oh, I know." Sakura smiled. "But I'm working to keep myself busy. It keeps the nesting urges down and makes the days go by faster."

"I see." Mikoto nodded and took her own seat.

"Auntie, this looks great!" Shisui drooled over the food in front of him.

"Then why don't we get started?" Mikoto motioned for them to help themselves.

"Thanks for the food!" All three of them clapped their hands together and they began their dinner without incident.

Once dinner was over, when Mikoto had offered tea for the three of them, that was when Itachi had started the conversation that they were really there to have.

They were all sitting in the living room when the Uchiha broke the silence once his mother took her seat.

"It's too bad Sasuke couldn't be here."

Sakura swallowed hard. It was starting and there was no going back.

"Y-yeah. It's been really quiet with him gone."

"That's right, you and Sasuke were on the same team growing up weren't you?" Mikoto smiled and took a sip of her tea. "Tell me, are you two close at all?"

"Very close..." Sakura looked down at her cup.

"Then you wouldn't happen to know of a girl that he's talked about, would you? My husband is so determined to get him married as soon as he gets home and I just wish that it would be with someone that my Sasuke truly cares for."

Sakura slowly nodded.

"Oh that's wonderful!" Mikoto said, excitement in her eyes. "Who is she?"

Itachi and Shisui looked at each other than to Sakura, who was trembling in her seat.

"Me." She whispered.

"Mei?" Mikoto tilted her head. "That's unexpected, I was thinking-"

"No." Sakura interrupted. " _Me._ "

The room became quiet.

"Lady Uchiha... I couldn't tell you the truth before..." Sakura put her cup to the side and bowed to the clan leader. "I have lied so many times not to just you, but to everyone around me."

The pinkette was shaking now and tears were starting to come.

"Shisui and I didn't meet until the night of the party when we told you we were together. Lee and I have always been just friends." She sniffed. "It's me and Sasuke that have always been serious since we were Genin. We knew that we would get in trouble but we just couldn't help ourselves. We're in love and the only reason Sasuke is taking the ANBU exam is because of me."

Mikoto stayed silent, taking in everything Sakura was saying.

"Mother, this time it is not a lie," Itachi spoke. "I've known about the two of them since they first became Chunin." He admitted.

"I offered to help keep the facade so that Uncle wouldn't find out," Shisui said, also bowing to Mikoto. "Itachi told me their story and I knew that I couldn't let them be broken up by clan tradition."

"So... You're telling me that Sasuke is the father of your children?" Mikoto finally broke her silence.

Sakura nodded.

Mikoto took a deep breath and opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"I'll get it." Itachi quickly offered and left the room.

"Auntie, please understand where Sakura is coming from. Not even Sasuke knows that he's going to be a father, and all she has done is to protect Sasuke from being outcasted by the clan." Shisui said.

"I understand." Mikoto sighed. "But there are rules that have been put in place for generations. I'm not the one to make the decision-"

"But you influence Uncle's decisions."

"That may be true but I'm not sure that even I could convince him to allow this to happen."

"Itachi is going to have a child any day now, though! There's no reason for Sasuke to marry someone from the branch family."

Sakura remained quiet while Shisui argued her case. She did all she could to keep from sobbing. This was backfiring and it was happening fast.

"Shisui, I-"

"Sakura! Come quickly!" Itachi ran back into the room. "It's RIkka. She's gone into labor and is bleeding."

Sakura's head snapped up at those words. Her worries immediately melted away and her medic mode had kicked in.

As fast as her pregnant stomach would allow her, she got up and left the room behind Itachi. Right now, a patient needed her.

* * *

"Why is there so much blood?" Rikka sobbed when Sakura arrived to help the clan's medics with the Uchiha woman.

"Don't panic, Rikka. It'll be okay." Sakura said, giving her a reassuring smile.

"What is she doing here?" A man asked Itachi.

"This is Rikka's doctor. Don't take it personally, but I would rather have her deliver my child over your team." Itachi said. "Now make room for her to work."

"I could use your assistance though," Sakura told the astonished medic. "Please, bring me sterile medical tools and plenty of towels."

"Yes, ma'am."

Sakura pulled back her hair and went to the foot of the bed to check Rikka's cervix.

There definitely was a lot of blood.

 _She could be hemorrhaging._ Sakura thought to herself.

"Okay, we need to get the baby out as soon as possible. We need to transport her to the hospital now for a cesarean. We don't have time to wait for her to give birth naturally."

"What?" Rikka cried. "Why?"

"Don't worry Rikka, this happens all the time," Sakura reassured her. "I'm going to take care of you. I promise."

The medics prepared Rikka to be carried to the hospital while Sakura started to make her way out to meet them there. Itachi stopped her.

"Sakura, what is going on?"

"Itachi, I'm not going to lie to you. She could be hemorrhaging and that's why she's losing the blood she is. I'm going to do all I can to stop the bleeding, but we need to get her to the hospital first."

Itachi swallowed hard and nodded. "Okay."

Sakura hadn't even noticed that Mikoto was following behind her with every move she made.

* * *

Once they got to the hospital, Sakura ordered her team to give Rikka an epidural and to numb the lower half of her body so that she could get started right away on the procedure.

While Itachi was doting on his wife, Sakura couldn't help but wish that could be her laying in the hospital bed with Sasuke at her side. She wasn't going to get that.

The pinkette shook her head fast. Now wasn't the time to feel sorry for herself. She had to save Rikka's life right now and deliver this baby.

She had done this procedure a thousand times before this, and she knew without a shadow of a doubt that this one was going to be no different.

She put on her protective gown and mask, then had her nurse put on her gloves for her.

It was time to get down to business.

Sakura didn't even have to think as she moved expertly with her tools and hands. She had done this so many times before that she knew exactly what needed to be done.

It took a total of thirteen minutes until cries were heard in the room from the tiny baby boy.

The neonatal team quickly took him away as Sakura kept working on getting the placenta out of Rikka and finding the bleed on the inside of her.

"There." Sakura narrowed her eyes at a spot that was flowing heavily and ran her chakra right through it to speed up the healing process to make the bleeding stop.

Once she got it to stop, she motioned for her assistant surgeon to come forward and close her up.

While all of this was going on, Itachi was at Rikka's head, holding the baby so she could see him. It was a heart-warming moment seeing the three of them together. Especially after all the workwas donee to bring him into the world.

Sakura backed out of the room unnoticed and went to clean up.

* * *

The pinkette had decided that she would leave the hospital and let the Uchiha family have their time. Without even giving a goodbye, Sakura started out of the L&D ward.

In a few weeks, she would be experiencing the same thing, which both excited and terrified her. Especially now that Mikoto knew the truth.

"Sakura."

The medic stopped in her tracks when she heard the voice behind her.

She turned around, surprised to see Mikoto behind her.

The hallway was dark from it being later in the night, and it was just the two of them in the quietness.

"Lady Uchiha, congratulati-"

Mikoto bowed to Sakura and cut her off. "Thank you so much for saving Rikka and getting the child safely into this world."

"I was just doing my job. No thank yous are necessary." Sakura looked away, embarrassed that a noble was bowing to her.

"But they are." Mikoto insisted. "And after getting to know you these last few months, I definitely see what my sons see in you. I will convince my husband that you are the right choice for Sasuke. Just give me time. Shisui will be hard to explain, as will that Lee boy, but when Sasuke comes home I know that he will see just how perfect you two are for each other."

Sakura blushed. "Do you mean that?"

Mikoto nodded. "Yes. There is a reason my Sasuke fell for you, and now that Itachi has his own child, I think that we can let this rule slide."

Sakura bowed to Mikoto. "Thank you very much, Lady Uchiha."

"Please, call me Mikoto. If you're going to be part of my family, no formalities are needed."

"Okay..." Sakura felt tears well up in her eyes. It hadn't backfired after all.

"Thank you, Mikoto."


End file.
